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Metro
3 days ago
- Sport
- Metro
British tennis star given four-year doping ban after being cleared 18 months ago
Tara Moore has been issued with a four-year doping ban, despite the British tennis player being cleared of wrongdoing just 18 months ago. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled Moore failed to provide enough evidence to prove her failed drug test from 2022 was accidental. Moore, a former British No.1 in doubles, tested positive for nandrolone and boldenone in May 2022 while competing at a tournament in Colombia. Nandrolone and boldenone are anabolic steroids, synthetic versions of testosterone. The former has been coined 'the sportsman's favourite performance drug' by The Guardian. Moore, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was originally hit with a provisional suspension for over a year before an independent hearing. An independent tribunal then ruled that contaminated meat was the source of her positive drugs test – and that Moore 'bore no fault or negligence'. After the ruling, Moore said she'd been through '19 months of lost time and emotional distress' and argued her reputation had been wrongly tarnished. The Briton made her return to the ITF World Tour last year and was in the draw for Wimbledon, the US Open and featured at the Australian Open. But the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) issued an appeal against the decision that she was not responsible for the positive test. Following a new CAS hearing, a majority ruling has now sided with the ITIA, and the 32-year-old's four-year ban has been subsequently reimposed. She will not be allowed to play again until 2028 – although 19 months of her suspension has been deducted – because it's already been served. A statement from CAS read: 'After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS Panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat. 'The panel concluded that Ms Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation) was not intentional. 'The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld and the decision rendered by the Independent Tribunal is set aside.' Karen Moorehouse, the ITIA's chief executive, said that Moore failed to sufficiently explain the level of nandrolone in her system at the time. More Trending 'For the ITIA, every case is considered according to the individual facts and circumstances,' Moorehouse said. 'Our bar for appealing a first instance decision is high, and the decision is not taken lightly. 'In this case, our independent scientific advice was that the player did not adequately explain the high level of nandrolone present in their sample. Today's ruling is consistent with this position. 'We understand that players and their support teams may have questions about this decision, and we will answer these fully once we have reviewed the details of the ruling.' MORE: I'm the tennis-mad fan who proposed on Henman Hill at Wimbledon MORE: UK soap star congratulates brother on Wimbledon win MORE: Jannik Sinner won Wimbledon battle – but war with Carlos Alcaraz is far from over
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
British tennis star given FOUR-YEAR doping ban despite being cleared 18 months ago
The International Tennis Integrity Agency's appeal over the decision to clear Tara Moore has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and she's now been suspended British tennis star Tara Moore has been hit with a four-year ban for doping - despite being cleared 18 months ago. Moore, 32, had been allowed to play again following an independent tribunal last year. But the International Tennis Integrity Agency's appeal over the decision to clear her has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and she's now been suspended with immediate effect. Moore's ban will be reduced, though, as she served the first 19 months through a provisional suspension which began after the case came to light in 2022. The Hong Kong-born star was Britain's top-ranked doubles player at the time, having tested positive for nandrolone and boldenone during a tournament in the Colombian capital of Bogota in April 2022. An independent tribunal ruled that contaminated meat was the source of her positive drugs test and that Moore 'bore no fault or negligence'. The 32-year-old said that she'd been through '19 months of lost time and emotional distress', adding that her reputation had been tarnished as a result of the case. Moore returned to the ITF World Tour last year and was in the draw for Wimbledon, the US Open and featured at the Australian Open in January. She won't be allowed to return to the court until the beginning of 2028. A statement from CAS read: "After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS Panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat. "The panel concluded that Ms Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation) was not intentional. The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld and the decision rendered by the Independent Tribunal is set aside." ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse argued that Moore's explanation wasn't 'adequate', saying: "For the ITIA, every case is considered according to the individual facts and circumstances. "Our bar for appealing a first instance decision is high, and the decision is not taken lightly. In this case, our independent scientific advice was that the player did not adequately explain the high level of nandrolone present in their sample. Today's ruling is consistent with this position. "We understand that players and their support teams may have questions about this decision, and we will answer these fully once we have reviewed the details of the ruling." Moore's suspension comes at a time where the topic of doping in tennis has been intensely discussed. Both the men's and women's singles champions at Wimbledon, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, had served bans after failing drugs tests. It's the first time in Wimbledon history that both the men's and women's champions have served suspensions for banned substances. "I don't think it's a good look for the sport," Nick Kyrgios, who later posted an asterisk emoji following Sinner's win, said ahead of both singles finals. Italian Sinner had tested positive for low levels of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol in March 2024, earning him two provisional bans which he appealed against and had lifted within one and three days respectively. The 23-year-old was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent tribunal after they accepted that an over-the-counter spray to treat a cut on his hand had been inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, appealed against the panel's ruling that Sinner 'bore no fault or negligence' and said that it was seeking a ban of between one and two years. In February, shortly after the 23-year-old retained his Australian Open title, it was announced that Sinner and WADA had reached a controversial settlement which saw him banned for just three months. Six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek tested positive for heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in August 2024 and served a one-month suspension which ended in early December. The ITIA accepted that the Pole's test was caused by contamination of a regulated non-prescription medicine which she said she took for jet lag and sleep problems.
Hamilton Spectator
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada's Mboko closes in on main draw berth at Italian Open tennis tournament
ROME - Canada's Victoria Mboko advanced to the second round of qualifying at the Italian Open WTA 1000 tennis tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win over 17th-seed Cristina Bucsa of Spain on Monday. The 18-year-old from Toronto fired seven aces on the clay courts in Rome and broke Bucsa five times on 10 chances to wrap up the win in one hour 14 minutes. Mboko will next face ninth seed Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia for the chance to advance to her second career 1000-level main draw. She advanced to the second round of the Miami Open in March. Mboko, the world No. 158, has a 31-3 record this season, largely playing on the lower-tier ITF World Tour, where she has won five titles. In other qualifying action Monday, Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., fell 6-4, 6-4 to 10th-seed Emiliana Arango of Colombia. Both players struggled to hold serve, with Arango converting nine break points to Stakusic's seven. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Mboko closes in on main draw berth at Italian Open tennis tournament
ROME – Canada's Victoria Mboko advanced to the second round of qualifying at the Italian Open WTA 1000 tennis tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win over 17th-seed Cristina Bucsa of Spain on Monday. The 18-year-old from Toronto fired seven aces on the clay courts in Rome and broke Bucsa five times on 10 chances to wrap up the win in one hour 14 minutes. Mboko will next face ninth seed Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia for the chance to advance to her second career 1000-level main draw. She advanced to the second round of the Miami Open in March. Mboko, the world No. 158, has a 31-3 record this season, largely playing on the lower-tier ITF World Tour, where she has won five titles. In other qualifying action Monday, Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., fell 6-4, 6-4 to 10th-seed Emiliana Arango of Colombia. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Both players struggled to hold serve, with Arango converting nine break points to Stakusic's seven. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
