Simona Halep’s former coach says ‘no chance’ the two-time grand slam champion knowingly took banned substance clenbuterol, and says his former player has taken the banned substance before but not knowingly.
Former world No. 1 Simona Halep’s former coach says “no chance” the two-time grand slam champion knowingly took banned substance clenbuterol, and says his former player has taken the banned substance before but not knowingly.
Simona Halep, who won the Australian Open title and US Open earlier this year, and Caroline Wozniacki will compete in Madrid’s final round on Sunday along with other top players.
The pair were both stripped of their first-round match points for taking banned substances following last year’s Australian Open despite their previous clean record, something their agent has denied.
“At this time I do not see why a player that is so good should take a banned substance. If a player is a great player they should take these substances,” former coach Alejandro Falla told local media.
“For example Roger Federer, he doesn’t take a banned substance in his life. How come he is a World No. 1 and why are they saying no chance he took a banned substance?”
Simona’s trainer, Dr. Francesco Cattin, told Italy’s Rai Radio, “It doesn’t make sense and I don’t see how it’s possible. But there’s so many people in this world who don’t know the rules and are not following the rules. They aren’t following the rules, they’re just thinking about themselves”.
However, Falla, who also doubles as a doctor, said: “I don’t know why they [the players] refuse to answer our questions and we can’t find any reason why they don’t want to answer when it matters the most.
“It seems like they don’t want to tell the truth. And so we don’t know. Maybe they’re afraid to come across as weak and give people the impression that they’re not very brave and strong. Maybe they are afraid of being accused of not taking a banned substance, but we don’t know.”
Wozniacki’s trainer, Dr. Carlo Ratti, told Rai Radio: “We have not spoken with Simona, Caroline, or the other players. I have not spoken with them. We did talk to Serena Williams and she has spoken