‘Never Knowingly Taken a Banned Substance’ – British Tennis Player Provides Clarification After Getting Provisional Suspension

In a shocking news, 29-year-old British tennis star Tara Moore has been provisionally suspended from playing tennis. Recently, the Brit player played at the French Open, where she was taking part in the doubles event.

According to the tennis anti-doping program, Moore took some prohibited substances, which cost her the chance to play on the WTA tour for future tournaments indefinitely.

The Tennis anti-doping program suspended British tennis star Tara Moore

According to reports, the British tennis star provided her sample in April while playing a tournament in Bogoda, Columbia. Later, they split the sample into A and B and made the analysis. Interestingly, her A sample contained some prohibited substances, like Nandrolone metabolites and Boldenone and its metabolite. Notably, these are anabolic steroids that can increase an athlete’s strength.

After the suspension, Moore also posted a message on her Twitter account as she wrote, “I have never knowingly taken a banned substance in my career. I am investigating how the positive result could have occurred and look forward to proving that I am a clean athlete. I am deeply saddened by the provisional suspension and hope to be back on the court as soon as possible.”

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Despite the suspension, the player can request the authorities to check her B sample as well to confirm that it matches her A sample. Now, Moore will not be eligible to compete in any tournaments for the time being.

She has a doubles ranking of 83 in the world and recently competed in the French Open. In the first round, she teams up with the American Emina Bektas and beat the pair of Belinda Bencic and Anhelina Kalinina.

The infamous Maria Sharapova doping case

In 2016, 5-time Grand Slam Champion Maria Sharapova suffered a similar punishment, as she received a 2-year suspension for using a banned substance. Before that, she tested positive for meldonium. People with heart disease use this drug for treatment. Also, it can increase the stamina of a player or an athlete.

According to the Russian tennis player, she did not know about the substance, as her family doctor prescribed that medicine for her. She also disclosed that she was taking this substance since 2006. In 2016, she tested positive for meldonium twice; once was at the Australian Open. After that, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) suspended her for two years.

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Later, she appealed against the decision of 2 years ban to the ITF. As a result of her appeal, the authorities reduced her suspension from two years to 15 months. So, she returned to tennis in April 2017. However, she did not perform as per her usual standards since her return on the tour.