Marketa Vondrousova banned for four years for refusing an anti-doping test last year
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has been banned for four years for refusing an anti-doping test last year.
Vondrousova, 26, was charged by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in December 2025 after she refused entry to a doping control officer’s home to conduct a test.
The Czech player said he feared for his safety after police called him in April and said they could not follow “protocol”.
But the court found that Vondrousova, who became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title in 2023, “did not present a compelling justification” for refusing the test.
Vondrousova’s suspension will expire on June 21, 2030, but she has the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Under anti-doping rules, the starting point for sanctions if a player refuses a test is the same as if the player tested positive.
ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said the agency understood the testing process was “disturbing” and acknowledged the additional burden it could carry for competing players, but “it is essential to protect fair competition.”
Moorhouse added: “The safety and welfare of players and our testers is really important to us. Our testers are well-trained, professional and the gender of our test witness always matches the player.”
“They always carry identification, and players can verify their identity through other means if they are unsure.”
Vondrousova, ranked 122nd in the world, said she was afraid the officer would approach her door late at night without properly identifying herself or following protocol, adding: “At that moment, it was about feeling safe, not about running away from anything.”
