Russian teenager banned from tennis for nine months following anti-doping breach
By Aimee Lewis, CNN
A 14-year-old Russian tennis player has been banned from the sport for nine months following an anti-doping breach, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has said in a statement on Friday.
The ITIA said the player, who will not be named because of their age, had tested positive for Meldonium — a metabolic modulator — at a tournament in January.
The statement said the player had admitted to a breach of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) rules.
“Due to the player’s age, level and lack of access to Anti-Doping education, the sanction was set at nine months, backdated to the date of the player’s Provisional Suspension (5 March 2022),” the statement read.
“This means that the player is ineligible to compete in or attend any tennis events authorised, organised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of the sport until 4 December 2022.”
One-to-one education sessions would be provided to the player, the statement continued.
Russian athletes are unable to compete under their country’s name, flag and national anthem at major international sporting events until December 16, 2022 after the country was banned for doping non-compliance.
Originally banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for four years, the punishment was halved on appeal in 2020 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Russia is not allowed to compete at this year’s FIFA men’s World Cup, which takes place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18.
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