Tara Moore: Tennis Player Lashes Out After Being Banned for Four Years for Doping

Tara Moore, 32, has issued a statement condemning the anti-doping system as "broken."

This follows a four-year ban imposed by the ITIA after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned an independent tribunal's decision to clear her of wrongdoing.

Moore's ordeal began in May 2022 with a provisional suspension.

She had tested positive for the anabolic steroids nandrolone and boldenone at a tournament in Bogota, Colombia, in April 2022.

After 19 months, the independent tribunal Sport Resolutions exonerated Moore.

She successfully argued that the prohibited substance originated from contaminated meat consumed in Colombia.

The British player was allowed to return to competition.

However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) appealed the decision to CAS.

In mid-July, the ITIA announced that the Sport Resolutions verdict would be overturned.

The ITIA subsequently imposed a four-year ban on Moore.

According to BBC Sport, the ITIA stated, "Having assessed the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS panel determined that the player failed to establish that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat."

The ITIA's statement continued: "The Panel concluded that Ms. Moore failed to discharge the burden on her to show that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional. The ITIA’s appeal is therefore upheld and the decision of the independent Tribunal is set aside."

ITIA Director Karen Moorhouse also commented on Moore's case:

"In this case, our independent scientific report was that the player had not adequately explained the high levels of nandrolone present in her sample. Today’s decision is consistent with that position."

"We understand that players and their teams can have questions around this decision, and will engage fully with them after we have assessed the details of the decision."

Five days after the ITIA's decision, Moore released a statement expressing her disappointment, reaffirming her innocence, and criticizing the tennis anti-doping system.

You have to go through everything you've done and eliminate what it couldn't be [an explanation for] until you narrow down what the high probability is. Even then, you are deemed guilty and have to fight for your life against someone who has more money and resources than you. The last 3 1/2 years have broken me into a million pieces.

While my family and friends have fought to pick up the shattered pieces of me, they've helped me evolve into a different person. I don't need a panel to tell me I'm innocent. I know my integrity, and I know that I'm innocent. I think everyone in the last few years can see how subjective this process is. I was the victim. My life as I knew it was taken because organizations and people in power failed to do the right thing.

Maybe they’ve stopped me from fighting on the court, but my fight isn't over, not for me or others like me. The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of that. We need to fix it. Not for me, because it's too late, but for the future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation. I have so much to say when the time is right." - Tara Moore

Considering the 19 months already served under provisional suspension, Moore's four-year ban will effectively end at the start of the 2028 season.