Marketa Vondrousova Drops Bombshell About Her Meeting with Doping Control Officer: “She Gave Me Document with Rules from 2009 to Sign”

Marketa Vondrousova has revealed what exactly happened when a female doping control officer came to her apartment on December 3 last year, around 8 pm. Vondrousova said she was hit by anxiety upon seeing a stranger outside of her apartment, due to which she refused the anti-doping test.

And because of this refusal, Vondrousova is slapped with a four-year ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to the shock of the Czech ace. Vondrousova repeatedly said she did not dope and is thinking of approaching the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge ITIA’s verdict.

During her interview with iSport, the former World No.6 recounted the whole thing, also revealing that it was the doping control officer’s first tennis test in her life. Vondrousova also stated the officer did not show her ID card, nor did she ask the tennis ace for the same.

The doping control officer told her she could only leave when Vondrousova signed the refusal form. The 2023 Wimbledon champion said she was dealing with a lot of stress, which is why she signed the form quickly.

They brandish a paper that I signed under duress, just so she could leave, because I had no idea who it was. Plus, there’s a paragraph on that paper with the rules, which are from 2009. […] I told her that I did not know who she was, that I did not know her, that it was night and it was late. She replied: ‘We can do whatever we want.’ At that moment, I just wanted her to go away. 

Vondrousova said the ITIA gave the world their version and not the whole story. According to the ITIA, Vondrousova simply signed the form and took her dog for a walk.

If she had behaved professionally, shown her documents, or let me verify her identity, it would have turned out differently. The woman admitted during questioning that it was her very first tennis test in her life. When the lawyer asked her why she was so late, she replied that she did it for her own convenience. The human side of the system is completely lost.

Marketa Vondrousova added

Vondrousova also pointed out that she is 26, and a four-year ban simply means “the real end of tennis“. She said the ITIA cannot claim that it was a properly conducted inspection because the doping officer herself admitted to the misconduct during the trial.

Coco Gauff reacts to Marketa Vondrousova’s doping scandal

After the ITIA announced the ban, it sent shockwaves across the tennis world. Marketa Vondrousova also took to her Instagram story and penned a lengthy message defending herself, saying that she never doped.

Several fellow WTA players rushed to her defense, including Coco Gauff. The two-time Grand Slam singles champion dropped three heart emojis in the comment section.

Vondrousova, during that interview with iSport, also claimed that the ITIA wanted to prove how powerful they are after facing intense criticism for their “soft approach” toward Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek‘s doping cases. The ITIA did not hand both Swiatek and Sinner harsh punishment as they provided the source of contamination within the time given to them.

Both Swiatek and Sinner will compete at Wimbledon as the defending champions. Sinner and Swiatek defeated Carlos Alcaraz and Amanda Anisimova, respectively, last year.

Gauff, on the other hand, will be hoping to progress to the quarterfinals for the first time in the grass-court Major. The 22-year-old has not yet won a title this season, though she has played two finals, in Miami and Rome, losing both to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Potapova.

Also read: Jannik Sinner Declares Clean Bill of Health Ahead of High-Stakes Wimbledon Title Defense