Simona Halep refused to use Iga Swiatek’s name during a savage interview where the Romanian tennis player blasted the former world No.1.
Halep, who has topped the world rankings before herself, was banned for four years – later reduced to nine months – because of doping offences
She had tested positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open, but has since returned to the court following the expiration of her reduced ban.
However, Halep has been left frustrated by what she believes are lax punishments for Swiatek and ATP Tour star Jannik Sinner, who have both been caught up in doping scandals this year.
Commenting on the case involving Swiatek, Halep told The Telegraph: “The woman player – I don’t want to give name, you know about who I’m talking about – she had the three-week suspension, then she played two events, and then she gets again suspension. What is this? I mean, I don’t understand. So I feel it is not fair.”
Alongside the lenient bans, Halep has also bemoaned how Swiatek’s case was initially kept under wraps, while hers was announced immediately.
She stated in the fiery interview: “What I believe is not fair, either, is that they announced my case straight away, and I got all the heat from the press, and for these two players they kept it secret, and they just said about the case when everything was done, so it’s very weird.
“And I asked also to lift the provisional suspension to be able to play. I said, ‘If you believe in the end that I am guilty, you take the points back and all the money and everything, but let me play,’ because I wanted to keep the rhythm. I asked this about two or three times, but now they [Sinner and Swiatek] could play.
