Tara Moore has asserted her innocence and slammed the anti-doping system after being issued a four-year ban.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency [ITIA] announced last week that the Court for Arbitration of Sport [CAS] upheld their appeal.
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Moore was given a lengthy ban after a positive doping testCredit: Getty
Moore, a nine-time ITF title winner, tested positive for the anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone in April 2022.
“CAS upheld the ITIA’s appeal against the first instance No Fault or Negligence ruling with respect to nandrolone,” a statement read.
Moore was issued a four-year ban, but this will be reduced by the 19 months she spent provisionally suspended.
This comes despite an independent tribunal ruling in December 2023 that Moore ‘no fault or negligence’.
And taking to social media, Moore released an emotional statement to hit back at the CAS ruling.
“To be innocent and to have to prove that is an incredibly gruelling process,” she said on X. “Firstly, you’re trying to figure out what these things are, secondly, you are figuring out how and why these things got into your system.
“If you are innocent you don’t just know straight away. You have to go through everything you’ve done and eliminate what it can’t be, until you settle on something it most likely is.
“Even then, you are presumed guilty and have [to] fight for your life against someone that has more money and resources than you. The last 3 and a half years have broken me into so many pieces.
“As my family and friends have scrambled to pick up the broken shards of me, they’ve glued me back together in the form of a different person. I don’t need a panel to tell me I’m innocent.
“I know the integrity I bring and I know I am innocent. I believe everyone over the past couple of years can see how subjective this process is.
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Moore said the system is ‘broken’ and is not set to play again until 2028Credit: Getty
“I have been the underdog. I have had my life as I knew it ripped away from me because the organisations and people in power failed to do what was right.
“They may have taken my fight away on the court, yet my fight is not over, not for me or others like me. The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this.
“We need to fix it. Not for me as it’s too late, but for future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation. I have so much more to say when the time is right. Tara.”
Moore turned professional in 2010 and achieved a career-high WTA singles ranking of 145 in 2017.
The Brit is also a former world no. 77 in doubles, winning 17 titles on the ITF circuit, and reached the second round of Wimbledon in 2016.
Moore looks set to return for the beginning of the 2028 season.