Banned Vondrousova insists she has 'never doped' / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Banned Vondrousova insists she has 'never doped'
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova insisted she "never doped" after an anti-doping watchdog had banned her from tennis for four years on Monday.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) blames the 26-year-old Czech for failing to open the door to an anti-doping officer in December 2025.
The 2023 Wimbledon winner claimed in April she was scared when the officer rang the bell "without properly identifying themselves or following protocol".
"I have never doped. I have never had a positive test," she said on Instagram late on Monday.
"Throughout my entire career, I have undergone countless anti-doping controls and have always stepped onto the court with a clear conscience.
"Just three days after the incident that ultimately changed my life, I was tested again. The result was negative, just like every test before it."
Her lawyer Jan Exner told AFP on Monday they would consider an appeal but refused to elaborate.
An independent tribunal dealing with Vondrousova's case ruled the evidence offered "no compelling justification" for the world number 122 to refuse the test.
- 'Pointing a finger' -
"I would not wish what I have been through over the past few months on anyone. Waking up every day with uncertainty, fear, and the feeling that you are losing control over your own life is something that is difficult to put into words," Vondrousova said.
"It has been an incredibly exhausting and painful period that affected me far more deeply than I could ever have imagined," she added.
During her ban, the Czech is not allowed to play in, coach at, or attend any events organised or sanctioned by the ITF, WTA, ATP, the Grand Slams, or any national association.
The Czech news agency CTK quoted Vladislav Savrda, the manager of Vondrousova's Prague club, as calling the verdict "nonsensical and scandalous".
Savrda said the ITIA slapped the maximum penalty on Vondrousova but handed much shorter bans to Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek when they tested positive.
"They obviously wanted to avoid a scandal there," he said.
"But now they were gifted this case and needed to point a finger, and unfortunately Marketa is paying for this," added Savrda.
Besides the Wimbledon crown and another three WTA Tour singles titles, Vondrousova also reached the French Open final in 2019 and earned a silver medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
She reached a career high sixth place in the WTA rankings in 2023.
Vondrousova has played just two matches on the WTA Tour this year, withdrawing from the Adelaide International in January due to a shoulder injury.
(Y.Rousseau--LPdF)
