Simona Halep throws shade at Victoria Azarenka, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula & other WTA Player Council members with latest reaction to doping saga

Simona Halep openly expressed her disdain towards Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Garcia, Jessica Pegula, and other members of the WTA Player Council after her request for help to restore her ranking points was rejected. The Romanian has been the talk of the tennis fraternity after the recent doping controversies of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have come to light.

During the 2022 US Open, Halep tested positive for Roxadust, a banned substance, following which she was given a devastating four-year suspension. However, the ban was reduced to nine months by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) earlier this year.

A player returning from suspension will have to start all over again which meant that Halep, who ranked ninth during her ban, had to start from scratch relying on wildcards and invitations.

The former World No. 1 did try to get some help from the WTA Player Council, whom she requested to get some help in getting her points back. However, her request was allegedly denied. A Romanian WTA fan page mentioned this alongside the list of members of the WTA Player Council, which includes Victoria Azarenka, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, and others.

Simona Halep took to Instagram to reshare the fan page's post on her story.

Many fans earlier lashed out at the WTA when they put out a statement to show their support for Iga Swiatek. They questioned why Halep didn't receive the same treatment during her doping ordeal. The Romanian is currently ranked 879.

"I lost two years of my career" - Simona Halep penned an emotional note after Iga Swiatek's doping suspension came to light

Simona Halep - Source: Getty

Iga Swiatek received a one-month suspension from the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) after she tested positive for Trimetazidine during an out-of-competition test in August. However, the leniency of the punishment caused polarizing views from the tennis fraternity.

Simona Halep took to Instagram to highlight the 'big difference in treatment and judgment' between her and Swiatek's cases.

"I'm sitting and trying to understand, but it's really impossible for me to understand something like this. I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgment? I can’t find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer. It can only be bad will from ITIA, the organization that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence," Halep wrote.

The 33-year-old also added the negative emotions she felt during those trying times which caused her to lose sleep. Having said that, she was delighted to have received 'justice'.

"I lost two years of my career, I lost many nights when I couldn’t sleep, thoughts, anxiety, questions without answers... but I won justice. It turned out that it was a contamination and that the biological passport was a pure invention. And I won something else, my soul remained clean!! I feel disappointed, I feel mad, I feel frustrated, but I do not feel evil even now," Halep added.

Simona Halep also gave an interview to The Telegraph where she opened up about how she felt the ITIA had been unfair to her.