According to ITF press release, a decision has been issued under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (the “Programme”) that a charge under Programme article 2.4 against Alize Cornet has been dismissed.
Ms. Cornet, a 28-year-old player from France, was charged on 11 January 2018 with having three ‘Missed Tests’ recorded against her within one 12-month period, i.e., three times in one 12-month period she failed to make herself available for testing at the time and location she declared for that purpose in her whereabouts filing.
An Independent Tribunal found, by a majority decision, that the Doping Control Officer (“DCO”) did not satisfy all of the requirements of Article I.4.3 of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations in relation to the third Missed Test. Specifically, the DCO did not do “what was reasonable in the circumstances (i.e. given the nature of the specified location) to try to locate the [player], short of giving [her] any advance notice of the test.” For that reason, the third Missed Test declared against Ms. Cornet no longer stands.
The decision determines that (1) the charge that Ms. Cornet has committed a violation of the Programme has been dismissed; and (2) there is no award as to costs. The full decision can be found here.
The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme applies to all players competing at Grand Slam tournaments and events sanctioned by the ITF, ATP, and WTA. Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency and, upon a finding that an Anti-Doping Rule Violation has been committed, sanctions are imposed under the Programme in compliance with the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Code. More information on the Programme can be found at www.itftennis.com/antidoping.
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