LONDON – Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was suspended for four years on Monday for refusing an anti-doping test — even though the Czech player cited “mental stress” and fear when the testing agent “rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency made the announcement, saying that Vondrousova refused a test in December, and that the decision was reached by an independent tribunal following a hearing held this month.
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Vondrousova became Wimbledon’s first unseeded female champion when she beat Ons Jabeur in the 2023 title match. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 6 that year. She also reached the French Open final in 2019, losing to Ash Barty.
The 26-year-old Vondrousova detailed her reaction to the missed test in an Instagram post in April.
“It is very tough for me to talk about this, but I want to be transparent with you about my mental health,” Vondrousova said. “The recent doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress.”
The ITIA said Vondrousova “did not submit a sample when notified by a Doping Control Officer (DCO) during an out-of-competition test attempt at her home at around 8 p.m. on 3 December 2025” and that she instead signed a refusal form.
Vondrousova was represented by Los Angeles-based lawyer Howard Jacobs, a specialist in doping rules cases. Jacobs helped two-time Grand Slam singles champion Simona Halep win an appeal case in 2024 at CAS against a four-year ban for doping.
Vondrousova becomes the latest high-profile tennis player involved in a doping case after Halep, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.
Sinner accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency at the start of last year and Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension at the end of 2024.
Halep, Sinner and Swiatek each proved that they were not entirely responsible for their positive tests.
“We recognize this is a significant ban,” ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said. “And the reason for that, stepping back, is that you can’t have an anti-doping system where a player is in a better place by refusing to take a test than they would by taking a test and testing positive. So that feeds into the structure of the doping rules that provides for a starting point in the four-year ban for refusing to take a test.”
Vondrousova’s ban expires June 21, 2030. She can appeal the decision to the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
During a hearing before the tribunal, Vondrousova presented explanations that stress and poor mental health had affected her decision making, in addition to concerns for her safety because she claimed that the tester did not identity herself.
The tribunal considered this in their decision, as well as testimony from the doping control officer who attempted to conduct the test, and concluded that the evidence offered “no compelling justification” for the test refusal.
Tennis players and other pro athletes are required by anti-doping rules to specify where they will be available for a one-hour period each day to give samples for testing.
The female testing agent showed up at Vondrousova’s home outside the assigned hour that the player had signed up for that day — in a surprise test. Athletes are required to submit for testing if they are located for a surprise test outside their assigned hour. If they are not found when a tester shows up outside assigned hours, there is no sanction.
“Unpredictable testing is an essential tool to protect clean sport,” Moorhouse said. “The independent tribunal ultimately supported that principle. This case is an important reminder that players can be tested at any time, in any place, and that refusal comes with significant risk.”
The ITIA would not say if any inconsistencies were found in Vondrousova's previous anti-doping history.
“We wouldn’t disclose that,” said Nicole Sapstead, the ITIA's senior director of anti-doping, adding: “Obviously we look at all things like that.”
Wimbledon starts next week.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis