Tennis star Simona Halep: Doping suspension ‘worst moment of my life’

Simona Halep has climbed to the top of world tennis, winning two Grand Slam titles along the way. But now she faces the biggest battle of her life after having been found guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

In this episode of Interview, the Romanian tennis star talks mental health, legal battles, friendships being pushed to breaking point, and her dream of being cleared to compete at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Watch the conversation in the video player above, or read the full interview below.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: It’s been quite a year for you. A year out of the game. Describe to me, if you can, what’s your state of mind right now?

Simona Halep: Well, it’s been actually more than one year already, and every day it felt very painful, very emotional, hurtful, because I know I didn’t do anything wrong and I know I’m clean. So it was a shock when I received the letter that my urine test, only the urine test came out positive, with actually an extremely low quantity of substance, banned substance. I’ve been always against doping and you know, I’ve been loud as well about this, so it didn’t even cross my mind in my whole life to do something like this. So it was a shock. I struggled with the emotional part because it’s been very heavy on my shoulders and seeing this so much in the public, it was really affecting my mental health, for sure.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: Well, you’ve received an enormous amount of support online, not surprisingly, because you’re one of the world’s most popular sports stars, but also a lot of detractors as well. How have you reacted to that?

Simona Halep: Well, the support has been amazing. The fans who are supporting me unconditionally, which means a lot. It means a huge amount to see the people, even if I’m facing the worst moment in my life as an athlete I know I’m clean. I received tonnes of messages, good messages, and the biggest thing is that I’ve never faced a person who told me something negative. So all of them were positive, and this gave me the strength to keep fighting every day, to clear my name and to show that I didn’t do anything wrong. The players also, which are opponents, they also showed their support and I really appreciate it because it means a lot. We are fighting on court and when you are in the worst situation, they are there and they support you. Also the legends. I had such a big support from legends in tennis and they were also publicly speaking about me and this means a lot. They were supporting me fully and it’s great, it’s huge. Everything helps me to stay strong in these difficult times and to fight to clear my name.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: We’ve had also the International Tennis Integrity Agency say that, you know, three different panels of experts have said that you intentionally took this performance-enhancing drug. What’s going to be your defence?

Simona Halep: Well, yeah, they said that. But it’s very clear that it was a contamination. Three days before the positive urine test, I was negative in blood and urine. So I’ve been told at the beginning that it’s a very, it’s an extremely low quantity of this substance, banned substance, and in those three days I could not have doped. It was not my intention and never has been the intention to do something wrong or something disrespectful to this sport, because I have respected everything and I dedicated my life. My principles are not like this, so I didn’t think to cheat in tennis. The two things that… The contamination, I think it’s very strong for me. And the second one, the blood, I had many, many tests and all of them were negative. So they never found anything wrong in my blood. So with these two things, I feel confident going and facing CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: Do you trust the process, though?

Simona Halep: Yeah, I think it’s way too long to wait for an athlete, a professional athlete. I accepted I had nothing to do against this and now I’m looking forward to February when finally I will have the final decision.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: Some of the criticisms that have been levelled against you, and some of those have also come against your team as well, Patrick Mouratoglou, perhaps the most high-profile tennis coach in the world. He’s come out now in the last month and said, he’s admitted responsibility, saying, ‘yes, our team got it wrong’. You did have this contaminated collagen. What’s the relationship like between you and him now?

Simona Halep: It’s true that he went out. I wish he could have done that a little bit earlier. I have stopped working with the academy for a while already. I’m just, you know… When I found myself in this situation, it was difficult to manage because I have always trusted in my teams, previous teams and everybody that I work with because I felt like trusting, you have a better chance to perform at your maximum. And I’ve always been open to learn from people. That’s why you hire people, because you need the information, you need to be better. So I always trusted this and my trust is broken a little bit right now. And in the future, I don’t know how it’s going to be, if I can trust again. And probably I have to learn, because this is my principle in life, if you hire somebody and you work with that person, you have to trust.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: And when was the last time you two spoke?

Simona Halep: Not very soon. Like a few months ago. 

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: If the Court of Arbitration does, the decision goes against you, will this effectively be the end of your career?

Simona Halep: I think so, yeah, because four years is going to be a lot, for my age at least. And for an athlete who has done this thing every day for 25 years and dedicated their life to tennis and to sport I don’t know how it’s going to be, but it’s catastrophic if it’s going to be four years, and I don’t know how I will handle it. Probably, it’s going to be the end of my career, yes. And for something that I didn’t do and that is not my fault, it’s even more catastrophic. 

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: Well, you remain a national hero in your native Romania and beyond, for sure. Lots of people are going to be watching this interview, young people are going to be watching this interview. What message would you have for them?

Simona Halep: Well, for the kids, the only thing I can say is that they have to dream big. I think this is the most important thing to visualise yourself with the big trophies. Of course, you never know what is going to happen in life, but if you dedicate yourself to sport, if you are disciplined, if you work hard, and if you have the passion, the big passion for this sport, I think you are able, one day, to lift those trophies. I did this and I can share this with them. They have to have the courage to trust themselves and to go forward. I know some days are difficult because you don’t feel like going there. You feel tired, you feel exhausted, you feel depressed sometimes. But if you push yourself and you go on court in those days, the step is huge. And I wish them good luck and to trust in themselves, to have confidence inside them.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: Now before I let you go, if we do look ahead into the future and the ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport is positive in your favour, will you be back here in Paris, perhaps for the Olympics?

Simona Halep: Of course. This is my dream! I know there are not big chances for this, but I’m dreaming of this because Paris is my dream city. I won Roland Garros here when I was a junior, so everything started very early, and it will be amazing to be back on court, no matter what. But I just want to be on court because that’s where I belong and I feel like I want to do it again.

Tokunbo Salako, Euronews: Simona Halep, thank you for this interview.

Simona Halep: Thank you, too, for listening and for talking to me.