WOMEN’S tennis star Marketa Vondrousova could be banned for four years.
She has been charged with refusing a doping test.
Czech player Marketa Vondrousova is facing a four-year ban Credit: Getty
In December Vondrousova apparently had someone come to her door “late at night” who didn’t identify themselves.
It was a random visit from a doping control official.
After saying she felt “scared” by the situation – Vondrousova claimed it “was about feeling safe, not about avoiding anything.”
The 2023 Champion shared an emotional statement on following the events in December.
She said: “It is very tough for me to talk about this, but I want to be transparent with you about my mental health. The recent doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress.
“For a long time, I’ve been dealing with injury, constant pressure, and ongoing sleep issues that left me feeling exhausted and fragile.
“It slowly wore me down more than I probably realised at the time. And on top of that, years of hateful messages and threats have affected how safe I feel in my own space.
“When someone rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves or following protocol – I reacted as a person who felt scared.
Vondrousova made an emotional statement on her Instagram Credit: PA
“In that moment, it was about feeling safe, not about avoiding anything. Experts confirmed I suffered an Acute Stress Reaction (F43.0) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (F41.1).
“In that moment, fear clouded my judgement and I just could not process the situation rationally. After what happened to Petra [Kvitova], we don’t take strangers at our door lightly.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) are the ones charging Vondrousova.
ITIA regulations say that a player commits an anti-doping violation when they “evade sample collection or refuse or fail to submit to sample collection” without justification.
According to The Athletic, Vondroušová said in December that the tester arrived outside of the testing window she had given, and also failed to identify themselves.
However the ITIA spokesperson seemingly said this is because the organisation wants the testing program to be unpredictable.
Vondrousova will remain un-suspended for the time being but she is reportedly under investigation at the moment for the incident in December.
She is free to play while under investigation, but the maximum punishment is a four-year suspension under the Tennis Anti-Doping Protocol.
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