Tara Moore Receives Four-Year Doping Ban After Initial Ruling Is Overturned

British tennis player Tara Moore has been handed a four-year doping ban following a successful appeal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), reversing an earlier decision that had cleared her of wrongdoing.

Moore, 32, initially tested positive for banned anabolic steroids—nandrolone and boldenone—during a tournament in Bogotá, Colombia, in April 2022. She was suspended shortly afterward, but in late 2023, an independent tribunal ruled that the substances had entered her body through contaminated meat, declaring her not at fault.

In reaction to that initial decision, Moore said the 19-month wait for the verdict had cost her valuable time in her career and life. “Nineteen months of lost time,” she said. “Waiting for a verdict that I bore no fault or negligence—time I’ll never get back.”

She returned to the tour in April 2024 and often criticized what she believed to be a double standard in doping enforcement. “Iga Swiatek tested positive and got a month. I was out for over a year for something I didn’t knowingly do,” Moore said.

But the ITIA filed an appeal, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has now ruled that Moore failed to prove her case. The panel concluded that the levels of nandrolone in her sample were inconsistent with meat contamination and determined that the anti-doping rule violation could not be classified as unintentional.

“The ITIA’s appeal is upheld,” CAS stated. “The earlier decision is set aside, and a four-year period of ineligibility is imposed.”

While the ban takes effect immediately, CAS credited Moore with 19 months already served, reducing her remaining time on the sidelines. The ruling casts doubt on whether she will be able to make a full return to competitive tennis.