Tennis players Moore and Gatica cleared in doping case, contaminated meat blamed for positive tests

Tennis players Tara Moore and Barbara Gatica were cleared of doping allegations Saturday after investigators ruled that their positive tests for steroids stemmed from contaminated meat they ate while competing in Colombia, the International Ten‐ nis Integrity Agency said.

Both women had been provi‐ sionally suspended after their samples taken at a WTA tourna‐ ment in Bogotá in April 2022 were positive for boldenone. Moore's sample also contained nandrolone.

The ITIA said an independent tribunal determined that Moore and Gatica " bore no fault or neg‐ ligence for their adverse analyti‐ cal findings and are therefore not subject to a period of ineligibil‐ ity."

The tribunal found that "conta‐ minated meat consumed by each player in the days before sample collection was the source of the prohibited substance(s)."

"The ITIA has issued, and will continue to issue, information concerning the risks of meat con‐ tamination in certain parts of the world to all players," the organi‐ zation said in Saturday's an‐ nouncement.

The suspensions were immedi‐ ately lifted, although separately Gatica remained under a three‐ year ban for corruption offenses. Gatica is from Chile and reached a career‐best WTA singles rank‐ ing of No. 201 in 2022.

Moore, a 31‐year‐old British player, had been suspended in May 2022 and immediately protested the findings, saying she has "never knowingly taken a banned substance in my ca‐ reer."

Moore was ranked 83rd in dou‐ bles at the time of her suspen‐ sion. Her career high WTA singles ranking is No. 145 achieved in 2017.