Former women's world No. 1 Simona Halep has been at the center of a heated debate regarding the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). In a series of statements, she has voiced her dissatisfaction with what she perceives as a significant difference in treatment compared to the agency's handling of Iga Świątek's failed test.

ITIA's Handling of Different Cases

On Thursday, it was announced that Iga Świątek had accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine. The ITIA stated that her level of fault was at the lowest end. However, Halep faced a four-year ban in September 2023 after testing positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. She maintained that the anti-doping violations were not intentional and, in March this year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the ban to nine months.Halep questioned, "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 the ITIA, the organization that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence. It was painful, it is painful and maybe the injustice that was done to me will always be painful."In a statement, the ITIA responded by saying, "We deal with each case based on the facts and evidence, not a player's name, ranking or nationality. When a prohibited substance is found in a player's system, we investigate it thoroughly. No two cases are the same, they often involve different circumstances, and direct comparisons are not always helpful. There are some very important differences in these two cases. The product contaminated in Ms Swiatek's case was a regulated medication, not a supplement. There was agreement among independent scientific experts surrounding the facts and the player admitted the Anti-Doping Rule Violation."At the same time Halep was handed her ban, the ITIA also announced that she was being charged with having irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), which is designed to monitor an athlete's selected biological variables over time. However, CAS dismissed that charge.Halep criticized the length of time it took authorities to process her case and slammed "the scandalous accusations that were leveled against me."The ITIA has already faced criticism this season over the handling of Jannik Sinner's doping case. The men's world No. 1 avoided suspension despite testing positive for a banned substance twice in March 2024. Sinner claims the failed test was due to "inadvertent contamination of Clostebol" through treatment from his physiotherapist, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced in September that it was lodging an appeal with CAS.Halep added, "I lost two years of my career, I lost many nights when I couldn't sleep, thoughts, anxiety, questions without answers. How is it possible that in identical cases happening around the same time, ITIA to have completely different approaches to my detriment?"The ITIA further emphasized, "We urge players to exercise extreme caution when taking supplements and we are always happy to answer any questions they have."