The International Tennis Federation announced on Wednesday that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld a decision to suspend Spain’s Laura Pous Tio for doping.
The former Top 75 tennis player will continue to serve a two-year suspension back-dated to October 2007.
The independent CAS Tribunal found that a sample provided by Miss Pous Tio on June 19, 2007 at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships Qualifying Tournament in Roehampton, Great Britain, contained Hydrochlorothiazide and Amiloride.
Hydrochlorothiazide and Amiloride are Prohibited Substances under WADA’s 2007 List of Prohibited Substances and are therefore also prohibited under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
Miss Pous Tio admitted to the offense, which the CAS Tribunal accepted was derived from her use of the medication Ameride. However, the CAS Tribunal rejected the player’s contention that she bore No Fault or Negligence or No Significant Fault or Negligence, stating that Miss Pous Tio “…did not give any consideration to whether the prescription medicine might contain a prohibited substance”, and “…failed to exercise any reasonable level of care to comply with the anti-doping programme”.
Thus, the CAS tribunal upheld the suspension of 2 years imposed by an independent tribunal convened under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, the start of which was back-dated under Article M.8.3 to October 1, 2007, and hence ends at midnight on September 30, 2009.
The Tribunal also upheld the disqualification of Miss Pous Tio’s results from the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships Qualifying Tournament in Roehampton, Great Britain, and subsequent events, with the resulting forfeiture of the ranking points and repayment of the prize money that she won at those events.
The CAS panel noted that, under the transitional provision of Article 25.4, the Player may be eligible for a reconsideration of the length of her sanction under Article 10.4 of the 2009 WADA Code, and recommended that the player make an application to the ITF for such reconsideration when those provisions come into effect.
The full text of the CAS Decision is available at the ITF website.
