Simona Halep maintains innocence after being hit with second, additional doping violation

WATCH: Former No. 1 Simona Halep has maintained her innocence in the aftermath of her positive test for roxadustat in October.

Former world No. 1 Simona Halep was charged Friday with a second, additional doping violation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) relating to "irregularities in her athlete biological passport."

Halep has been provisionally suspended from tennis since October of last year, when it was revealed that she tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the US Open. The additional charge of "an adverse passport finding" came as a result of "an assessment Ms. Halep's ABP profile by an independent ABP expert panel," per an ITIA media release.

The biological passport program collects and compares athletes' biological data, like blood samples, to spot discrepancies over time that could suggest the subject is doping.

“We understand that today’s announcement adds complexity to an already high-profile situation," Nicole Sapstead, Senior Director for Anti-Doping at the ITIA, said in a statement. "From the outset of this process–and indeed any other at the ITIA–we have remained committed to engaging with Ms. Halep in an empathetic, efficient, and timely manner.

“We do, of course, appreciate there is a great deal of media interest in these cases. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on specifics until the conclusion of the process, but we will continue to engage with the Sport Resolutions independent tribunal and Ms. Halep’s representatives as expeditiously as possible.”

Halep released her own statement shortly after the news broke, where she chided the ITIA for "harassment and a motivation to prove me guilty of something I never did," continued to assert her innocence of the charges against her, and called the evolving situation "the worst nightmare [she has] ever gone through in [her] life."

"Three world-renowned experts that have studied my blood test have been extremely clear that my blood is totally normal," Halep wrote in part.

Last month, Halep called the handling of her initial case "unfair" in an interview with Tennis Majors, the online tennis website in which her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, is a partner.

At the time, Halep said she was still waiting to go before an independent tribunal for a hearing in regards to her positive test. It was the first time she spoke publicly since issuing a statement in the immediate aftermath of the announcement that she'd tested positive, in which she maintained her innocence.

"I believe that it’s not fair to spend eight months without even being judged by the tribunal," she said in April. "Emotionally, the whole period has not been easy and I just felt the need to speak out loud to my fans, to my supporters, and actually to the whole public. I’m sure they really want to know what’s going on and why it’s taking so long.

"I wanted to remain silent until the case was solved but it’s too heavy, so I felt that it would be really good for me to speak about it out loud."

Halep's latest statement confirmed that a hearing will, in fact, take place at the end of May, and that she'll present a case arguing that contamination caused her positive test.

"I have full trust in justice and I look forward to finally being able to present my case," she wrote.

Halep lost to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur in the first round of the US Open last summer, her last match to date.