Patrick Mouratoglou releases official statement on Simona Halep’s provisional suspension

WATCH: Tennis Channel Live discusses Simona Halep's provisional suspension for a positive drug test.

Patrick Mouratoglou made his first full statement following the news that former pupil Simona Halep tested positive for Roxadustat, a banned substance.

“Since Simona’s positive test last week, I have chosen to stay relatively silent,” wrote Mouratoglou, who runs an eponymous tennis academy and worked with 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams for over a decade. “My priority has been to put my energy into helping her and supporting her in establishing the truth every day.”

Mouratoglou teamed up with Halep ahead of the clay-court season back in the spring; during that time, the two-time Grand Slam champion reached the Wimbledon semifinals and won her 24th career WTA title at the National Bank Open in Toronto.

Echoing sentiments made by Darren Cahill, Halep’s other longtime coach, Mouratoglou writes, “Knowing Simona so well, I can assure that she is a model of integrity. She is totally against any form of doping, and I know it has never crossed her mind to take any forbidden substance. I trust her 100%.”

Vowing to stand by the embattled Romanian, Mouratoglou concludes, “Together, we will fight to prove the truth.”

Halep ended her season after a first-round US Open exit to Daria Snigur, and was informed of the positive anti-doping test several weeks later on October 7. She is currently serving a provisional suspension.

In the meantime, Mouratoglou announced on October 12 that he would work with Danish teenager Holger Rune, who won his second ATP title in Stockholm last week.