'Like a truck hit you': Simona Halep describes feelings when she found out about testing positive for banned substance

The 32-year-old said that she was in a lot of pain after she got to know about the doping test violation. Halep said that she felt it was not true and it was a mistake on the ITIA’s part.

"Oh, like a truck hit you. And when I received the email, it was like, ‘It's a mistake. It cannot be true, this one.’ Yeah, it was a really big pain when this happened, and I never thought that I can live something like this," Halep said.

Simona Halep says she felt relieved to know about contaminated supplement

Simona Halep further talked about the case and how it felt when she found out about the contaminated supplement that led to her doping test results showing the presence of roxadustat. The Romanian said that she was relieved because she now knew the source of the banned substance.

Halep said that it was a disastrous feeling for her to live with that emotion. Although she got her ban reduced to just nine months, Halep’s image was tainted.

"It was really, really difficult. Firstly because I didn't know how it happened. And then when I discovered the contaminated supplement, it was a little bit better because you know what happened at least. But yeah, still, it was a disaster to live that emotion," Halep told the Tennis Channel.

Notably, Halep was slapped with a four-year ban after her doping test results showed the presence of a banned substance in her body. The Romanian, however, challenged the ITIA verdict and the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) ruled she was not at fault. Halep got her ban reduced to nine months.

The two-time Grand Slam champion made a comeback to the tour with the Miami Open. Although Halep suffered a first-round exit at the ATP Masters tournament after losing to Paula Badosa, she impressed everyone with her gameplay. The 32-year-old is now working her way up in the rankings.