Tara Moore Receives Four-Year Ban After Doping Case Twist

British tennis player Tara Moore, formerly the UK’s number one-ranked doubles player, has been handed a four-year ban for a doping offense, marking a significant twist in a long-running case. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned a previous ruling that had cleared her, leading to the ban.

Initial Positive Test and Tribunal Ruling

Moore’s troubles began in April 2022 when she tested positive for anabolic steroids, nandrolone and boldenone, at a tournament in Colombia. Consequently, she was provisionally suspended from the sport. However, in December 2023, an independent tribunal accepted Moore’s defense that the positive test resulted from consuming contaminated meat in Colombia. The tribunal concluded that she bore “no fault or negligence” in the matter.

ITIA Appeal and CAS Decision

Despite the independent tribunal’s ruling, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) appealed the decision to CAS, focusing specifically on the findings related to nandrolone. On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, CAS upheld the ITIA’s appeal. The CAS panel stated that Moore had not sufficiently proven that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat. They concluded that she failed to establish that the anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) was unintentional.

Moore’s Response and Impact

Moore, 32, had previously stated that she had never knowingly taken a banned substance. She expressed the toll the initial 19-month suspension had taken on her reputation, ranking, and livelihood. While the 19 months she already served under provisional suspension will be credited towards the four-year ban, she will not be eligible to compete again until the start of the 2028 season.

ITIA Statement

ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse addressed the situation, stating that the decision to appeal was not taken lightly. She noted that independent scientific advice indicated that Moore had not adequately explained the high level of nandrolone in her sample, and the CAS ruling was consistent with this position.