Patrick Mouratoglou’s recent admission of involvement in Simona Halep’s doping ban has not been received kindly by the tennis world.
Former world number one Simona Halep was recently banned from professional tennis for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for multiple anti-doping program violations. The Romanian player tested positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open and has not played in an official match since.
Patrick Mouratoglou had earlier offered a staunch defense of Halep, who has been his client for much of 2022. However, the Frenchman changed his tune on Friday (November 4), issuing a statement on his Instagram account insisting that he and his client team were responsible for the 32-year-old’s doping ban. Partially responsible.
“We have been able to determine the source of the contamination,” he said on Instagram. “So we advised her to take collagen, and we brought her collagen from a company. The collagen happened to be contaminated and we had no way of knowing. But I take responsibility for what happened because it was me team. So basically I brought the collagen.” She was the collagen. “
However, the Frenchman’s admission angered tennis fans on social media. One fan criticized him for being slow to take responsibility for Halep’s ban, then suggested he may have ruined the Romanian’s career by being loyal to Serena Williams. Serena Williams was her guardian from 2012-21 and one of Halep’s biggest rivals.
“What a coward he is! It took him so long when we actually knew from the beginning that his team was responsible. If he had come forward from the beginning all Simone haters would have shut up! He Never stopped being Serena’s coach and he ruined Simone’s reputation just because Simone won Wimbledon in front of Serena,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, another fan claimed Simona Halep made a “big mistake” when listing Mouratoglou’s services as a coach.
“Simone made a huge mistake hiring this liar as her coach,” the fan wrote.
Here are more reactions on social media:
Simona Halep’s coach previously accused ITIA of ‘ruining innocent players’ careers’
In a previous statement, Simona Halep’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou had asserted that ITIA was part of a system that unfairly harmed the careers of innocent players.
“I do not trust the ITIA to find the truth in Simone’s case, nor do I trust them to treat her in an acceptable manner. I hope the WTA, ATP and PTPA will do their best to change a system that is destroying the careers of innocent players.”
He also insisted Simona Halep was innocent, writing:
“I know Simona Halep’s integrity and I have no doubt that she has never taken any banned substances.”
Recently, the Frenchman suggested that any player who fails to keep track of the supplements they take could be banned from the sport.
“This brings into my mind the fact that any athlete could be infected tomorrow because apparently this is happening more and more,” Mouratoglou wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We talk about It’s extremely low-level stuff. It has zero impact, but you happen to have something in your system that shouldn’t be there.”
“Your career is going to be stalled for a very long time. It’s going to affect your entire career, it’s going to affect your reputation in a very unfair way because you’re not doing anything. The company that you decide to supplement, you Already 100 percent sure that’s not going to happen,” he added.