Simona Halep, a former world No. 1, has been suspended and charged with another drug offence

Simona Halep, a former world No. 1, has been suspended and charged with another drug offence.

It was already a tough scenario for Simona Halep, and it just got worse.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency has filed a second and distinct doping complaint against the former world No. 1, who has been provisionally suspended since October after allegedly testing positive for a prohibited drug last year.

The concern relates to “irregularities” in Halep’s biological passport, a system of electronic indicators intended to monitor athletes’ blood outside of the typical drug testing. Ben Rothenberg, a tennis journalist, pointed out that the procedure is primarily used to check for blood doping.

After she allegedly tested positive for Roxadustat in an August 2022 test, the ITIA determined that Halep’s biological passport provided adequate evidence of a subsequent doping allegation.

According to Nicole Sapstead, senior director for anti-doping at the ITIA, this development fuels a delicate situation:

Halep issued a lengthy statement right after the charge was made, accusing the ITIA of harassment and asserting that her sample, which tested positive for Roxadustat, was found to be tainted. Halep said that three experts had examined her blood and determined that it was normal in light of what the ITIA said regarding her biological passport.

The 31-year-old Halep, a two-time Grand Slam winner who claimed victories at the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon, last competed at the 2022 US Open, where qualifier Daria Snigur surprised her in the opening round. At the previous Grand Slam, she had her best result in two years with a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon, when she lost to the eventual champion Elena Rybakina.