Tara Moore slams "broken" anti-doping system after four-year ban reinstated

Tara Moore says the anti-doping system is “broken” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled to uphold her four-year suspension for a doping violation—despite having been cleared of wrongdoing in a ruling 18 months ago.

The decision was announced last Tuesday, when a CAS panel agreed with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that she should be suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Read More: Tara Moore gets four-year ban after CAS panel upholds ITIA's appeal

Moore’s saga began in April 2022, when she tested positive for the anabolic steroids Boldenone and Nandrolone while competing at a WTA 250 event in Bogota, Colombia. The British doubles specialist has consistently maintained her innocence, attributing the result to contaminated meat.

“To be innocent and to have to prove that is an incredibly grueling process,” Moore wrote in a statement shared to social media on Sunday. “... If you are innocent you don’t just know straight away. You have to go through everything you’ve done and eliminate what it can’t be, until you settle on something it most likely is.

“Even then, you are presumed guilty and have to fight for your life against someone that has more money and resources than you.”

Moore’s defense was supported by prominent voices in the tennis community, including Judy Murray and Darren Cahill, and was backed by the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). With their legal assistance, Moore was able to argue that Boldenone is indeed “frequently used in cattle”—a claim supported by the Colombian Olympic Committee. Notably, Colombian doubles star Robert Farah and Chile’s Barbara Gatica also previously tested positive for Boldenone under similar circumstances.

Read More: Brazilian player cleared of doping after blaming positive test on contaminated Colombian meat

Moore, whose sample also included Nandrolone, was cleared by an independent tribunal in December 2023, which found her positive result was “likely” due to eating contaminated meat. But the ITIA appealed that decision, focusing on the presence of Nandrolone, which was found in an estimated concentration of 105 ng/mL—far greater than the 15 ng/mL threshold.

"Our bar for appealing a first instance decision is high, and the decision is not taken lightly,” ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said in a statement.

“In this case, our independent scientific advice was that the player did not adequately explain the high level of Nandrolone present in their sample. Today's ruling is consistent with this position."

Since her provisional suspension, Moore has become an outspoken critic of tennis’ anti-doping system, pointing to what she calls inconsistencies in the handling of high-profile cases involving top players like Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, and Simona Halep. She also helped the PTPA co-found the Athlete Counsel & Equity Program, a pro-bono legal initiative launched in 2025 that supports players in anti-doping and anti-corruption cases.

“The last three and a half years have broken me to pieces,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “...I don’t need a panel to tell me I’m innocent. I know the integrity I bring and I know I am innocent. I believe everyone over the last couple of years can see how subjective this process is.

“I have been the underdog. I have had my life as I knew it ripped away from me because the organizations and people in power failed to do what was right. They have taken my fight away on the court, yet my fight is not over, not for me or others like me.

“The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this. We need to fix it. Not for me as it’s too late, but for future players…”

Now 32, Moore is ranked No. 864 in singles and 187 in doubles. She returned from her provisional suspension in April 2024, after launching a GoFundMe campaign to help restart her career.

Following last week’s ruling, Moore’s ban will retroactively include time served, meaning she will not be eligible to return to professional tennis until 2028.