Patrick Mouratoglou’s latest admission on Simona Halep’s doping ban has left tennis fans fuming

By | Niranjan Bhargav 4 Nov, 2023

The tennis world was not pleased with Patrick Mouratoglou’s latest revelation regarding his participation in Simona Halep’s drug punishment.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) recently banned former World No. 1 Simona Halep from professional tennis for four years for several violations of the anti-doping program. The Romanian tested positive for Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open and has yet to play a competitive match since.

Patrick Mouratoglou has previously defended Halep, who was his client for most of 2022. The Frenchman, however, altered his tune on Friday (November 4), saying in a message on his Instagram profile that he and his staff were largely responsible for the 32-year-old’s doping penalty.

“We were able to determine where the contamination is coming from,” he stated in an Instagram video. “So we suggested she take collagen, and we brought her collagen from a company.” There was no means of knowing if this collagen was tainted. But because it was my squad, I feel accountable for what occurred. So it was really me that brought her this collagen.”

Tennis fans on social media were irritated by the Frenchman’s admission. One fan chastised him for being slow to accept responsibility for Halep’s suspension before saying that he may have damaged the Romanian’s career due to his loyalty to Serena Williams – his ward from 2012 to 21 and one of Halep’s main opponents.

“He’s such a coward!” It took him so long when we all knew from the start that his squad was to blame. If he had come out from the start, all Simona’s detractors would have remained silent! He never stopped being Serena’s coach, and he ruined Simona’s name just because Simona won Wimbledon in front of Serena,” they stated.

What a coward he is!

Took him so long when we all knew in fact, from the beginning, that his team was responsible.

If he would have come out from the beginning then all Simona’s haters would have kept their mouth shut!

But the coward was scared that his academy would have…
— AlphaChadLife (@AlphaChadLife) November 3, 2023

Meanwhile, another fan suggested that Simona Halep made a “big mistake” by hiring Mouratoglou as a coach.

“Simona made a big mistake hiring this crook as her coach,” the admirer stated in her post.

Patrick Mouratoglou finally publically takes responsibility for what happened to Simona and says he is confident in her appeal with the CAS.@pmouratoglou: "I feel responsible for what happened because it's my team, so me basically, who brought her (Simona) this collagen." pic.twitter.com/83RGSHUiIt
— Romanian Tennis (@WTARomania) November 3, 2023

Here are a couple more social media reactions:

This is a big, overdue step from Mouratoglou to take blame for his role in the Halep positive doping test.

Halep still has a challenge at CAS, however, because the amount of Rosa dust at she tested positive for was a much higher concentration than found in the supplement. https://t.co/aketaLIKmS
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) November 3, 2023

He confessed and admitted it's his fault, i always said him and his academy are the ones to blame. Even if what he said will not help Simo I hope more people will realize what really happened here. He should be banned from coaching and close his academy, he ruined a career ? https://t.co/gAqCP4GFNR
— LorenaPopa ?️‍♀️? (@popalorena) November 4, 2023