British tennis player Tara Moore has been banned for four years after a court agreed with the International Tennis Integrity Agency that she should be suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Moore, Britain’s former No 1-ranked doubles player, said she has never knowingly taken a banned substance in her career.
She tested positive for anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone in April 2022, but was cleared in December 2023 after an independent tribunal determined that the result was caused by eating contaminated meat while she was competing in Colombia.
The ITIA appealed that ruling, focusing on the portion of the findings related to nandrolone, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in the ITIA’s favor, saying the majority of its panel felt that Moore couldn’t prove the sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat.
“For the ITIA, every case is considered according to the individual facts and circumstances,” its chief executive, Karen Moorhouse, said in a statement.
“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.”
The 32-year-old Moore is currently ranked 864th in the world in singles and 187th in doubles, mostly playing in lower-level WTA Tour events since returning from her provisional suspension after the positive test.
Moore previously said how she saw her reputation, ranking and livelihood “slowly trickling away” for 19 months during her initial suspension.
The ruling on Tuesday said that those 19 months will be credited towards her suspension.