Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova banned for four years

Fear affected her judgment during the incident. Experts say she has an anxiety disorder and detected an acute stress reaction, Vondrousova later argued. She also referred to the knife attack against her former colleague Peter Kvitov. At Christmas 2016, a man posing as a craftsman attacked and injured Kvitova in her apartment.

No “convincing justification” presented

The ITIA said in a statement that Vondrousova “no convincing justification” for their refusal. Managing director Karen Moorhouse said: “Unpredictable controls are an essential tool to protect clean sport.” Vondrousova has not played a tournament since mid-January. She can still appeal the verdict before the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Often such a decision was then reversed. The Romanian Simona Halep was also banned for four years in October 2022 after a positive doping test, but the (CAS) shortened the ban to nine months. Halep was eligible to play again from March 2024, but has since ended her career.