Simona Halep, who was once the world number one in singles, is now fighting to return to the WTA Tour. After testing positive for roxadustat, an anti-anemic drug, the two-time singles Grand Slam champion faced a four-year doping ban, for which she has filed multiple appeals to prove her innocence. Now that she will be appearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal her lengthy doping ban, a familiar face was recently spotted accompanying Halep ahead of her hearing.

Amidst all these adversities, the Romanian tennis player previously came forward to open up about how her 25-year-long competitive journey has been ‘destroyed’ owing to her former coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s negligence. A few months after blaming the legendary French tennis coach for making some major mistakes, Halep was recently sighted dining with  Mouratoglou during her doping trial.

Patrick Mouratoglou accompanies Simona Halep ahead of her doping appeal hearing

In an interview, the Romanian tennis star was previously asked if she blames her former coach for introducing her to the banned substance that has led to her doping saga. Simona Halep,  who joined hands with Patrick Mouratoglou in April 2022, answered “I’m sure it wasn’t done intentionally and I’m grateful he admits the mistake was his and his team’s. Yes, they are the ones who gave me this food supplement.”

The former world number one spoke candidly about Mouratoglou’s negligence and mistakes, which he acknowledged in a video explaining how he was the originator of this substance proposal. As her former coach took responsibility for the adversities that she is facing, Halep also said, “And for this error – their error – I am the only one to pay the high price: twenty-five years of career destroyed!”

A few months after issuing these unfiltered statements, the 32-year-old player was recently spotted dining with Mouratoglou ahead of her doping appeal hearing. While bringing to light a picture of Halep sitting alongside the French coach, a fan tweeted, “Simona had dinner with Patrick tonight. Big day tomorrow as he and the physio who gave Simona the supplement will be at the hearing.” 

The user also said, “I am just saying, as the head coach of her team, he is (rightfully so) taking responsibility for giving her the supplements. It is all part of proving that she didnt knowingly dope. I think that is the main thing she needs to prove.”

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What do you think of the French coach accompanying Simona Halep ahead of her doping appeal hearing? Let us know in the comment section.

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