Former world number one Simona Halep has been charged with a second breach of anti-doping rules, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed on Friday.

Romanian Halep has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 for testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat, which stimulates the production of red blood cells, at the US Open in August last year.

On Friday, the ITIA said the two-time Grand Slam winner has been further charged “relating to irregularities in her athlete biological passport”. 

The athlete biological passport programme monitors biological data over time to identify potential doping violations.

On Friday, Halep said on Instagram that she felt “helpless facing such harassment” and denies the charges, suggesting she has been “a victim of a contamination”.

Read the full story on sportsdesk.com.mt...

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