Quarantined tennis pro Yastremska denied bid to lift doping ban
A Ukrainian player in hotel quarantine in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open has had her bid to lift a ban for failing an out-of-competition doping test denied.
World No.29 Dayana Yastremska travelled to Australia after receiving a provisional suspension for a positive test for mesterolone metabolite, a prohibited substance that can be used to boost testosterone.
Dayana Yastremska has had her bid to overturn a provisional suspension denied.Credit:Getty Images
The International Tennis Federation on Saturday denied a bid by the 20-year-old to lift the ban. Yastremska has the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The news that Yastremska had travelled on one of the charter flights organised by Tennis Australia came to light after a social media post by Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. The post has since been deleted.
Players at grand slam tournaments and events sanctioned by the ITF, ATP and WTA are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Yastremska drew a provisional suspension by the ITF on January 7.
In a statement on her Twitter feed then, Yastremska said she was “astonished and under shock”.
“I firmly state that I have never used any performance enhancing drugs or any prohibited substances,” she said.
She said she passed a drug test at her most recent tournament, in Austria on November 9.
The ITF has said Yastremska provided an out-of-competition urine sample on November 24 which was sent to a WADA laboratory in Canada.
They said Yastremska was charged with an “anti-doping rule violation” on December 22, with the provisional suspension taking effect on January 7.
Yastremska has won three WTA singles titles. She reached a career-high ranking of No.21 a year ago. Her best showing at a major was reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon in her main-draw debut there in 2019.
With AP