Tara Moore Handed Four-Year Ban After Initial Anti-Doping Ruling

British tennis player Tara Moore has been handed a four-year ban after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), overturning an earlier ruling that had cleared her of an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV).

Moore, formerly Britain’s top-ranked doubles player, was provisionally suspended in June 2022 after testing positive for the anabolic steroids nandrolone and boldenone. She maintained that she had never knowingly ingested any banned substance and argued that the contamination was likely due to consuming tainted meat shortly before the sample was collected.

An independent tribunal initially accepted this explanation, determining there was no fault or negligence on Moore’s part, and she was subsequently cleared. However, the ITIA challenged this ruling, leading to a review by CAS.

Following a reassessment of the legal and scientific evidence, the CAS panel ruled that Moore had failed to prove the detected concentration of nandrolone could have come from contaminated meat. Consequently, they concluded that she had not established the ADRV was unintentional.

“In reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS Panel found that the player did not demonstrate that the concentration of nandrolone was consistent with meat contamination,” CAS said in a statement. “The panel concluded that Ms Moore failed to prove the ADRV was unintentional. As such, the ITIA’s appeal is upheld and the original decision is set aside.”

Moore had also filed a cross-appeal, seeking to dismiss the ITIA’s appeal, invalidate the nandrolone finding, or reaffirm that she bore no fault. However, CAS ruled that her cross-appeal was inadmissible.

As a result, the 32-year-old will now serve a four-year period of ineligibility starting from July 15, with credit given for the provisional suspension already served.

Reflecting on the prolonged ordeal, Moore had previously spoken about the emotional toll, stating that her reputation, career ranking, and livelihood had “slowly trickled away” over the 19 months of her initial suspension.

ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse commented on the ruling, saying, “Our threshold for appealing a first-instance decision is high, and we do not take it lightly. In this case, our independent scientific advisors concluded that the explanation for the high nandrolone levels was insufficient. Today’s CAS ruling supports that conclusion.”


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