Halep banned for four years from tennis for doping violations

Former world number one Simona Halep has been given a four-year suspension from tennis following breaches of the sport's anti-doping programme, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Romanian tested positive for the banned substance Roxadustat last year and was charged with a separate second anti-doping breach in May "relating to irregularities in her athlete biological passport".

Halep, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. An independent tribunal said this would count in her period of full suspension, which will now run from 7 October 2022 to 6 October 2026.

The case remains subject to appeal.