British tennis star Tara Moore has released a statement in response to her four-year suspension for doping offences, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down the ruling last week.
Following the suspension for doping offences, Moore defended her innocence whilst condemning the anti-doping framework as fundamentally flawed.
Moore, who previously held Britain's top doubles ranking, asserted that the current system has failed athletes like herself.
The doubles specialist received a provisional suspension in June 2022 following positive tests for nandrolone and boldenone during a Colombian tournament.
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|Tara Moore has reaffirmed her innocence despite the verdict
The 32-year-old released her first public response on Tuesday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the ban, declaring: "I don't need a panel to tell me I'm innocent. I know the integrity I bring and I know I am innocent."
"The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this," she stated, pledging to continue her campaign for reform despite her competitive career being derailed.
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An independent tribunal exonerated her in December 2023, determining that tainted meat consumption caused the prohibited substances to appear in her sample. The panel concluded she carried no responsibility or carelessness in the matter.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency challenged this verdict, leading to the recent CAS proceedings. The sports court sided with the ITIA's appeal, reinstating disciplinary action against Moore.
Her suspension spans four years, though credit for the 19 months already served during provisional measures will reduce the remaining period.
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|Tara Moore is a former British doubles number one
Moore described the ordeal of establishing her innocence as an exhausting battle against presumed guilt.
"To be innocent and to have to prove that is an incredibly gruelling process," she explained, detailing how she had to methodically trace the source of the substances whilst facing an opponent with superior financial backing.
The experience has fundamentally changed her, she revealed: "The last three and a half years have broken me into so many pieces."
She credited loved ones with helping reconstruct her identity, saying her family and friends "scrambled to pick up the broken shards of me" and "glued me back together in the form of a different person."
Despite Moore's contaminated meat defence, the CAS majority determined she hadn't demonstrated that her nandrolone levels aligned with meat consumption.
The panel stated: "Ms Moore failed to establish that the ADRV was not intentional."
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|Tara Moore was initially suspended in 2022
Karen Moorhouse, the ITIA's chief executive, emphasised their selective approach to appeals, noting they don't challenge decisions without substantial grounds.
"Our independent scientific advice was that the player did not adequately explain the high level of nandrolone present in their sample," Moorhouse explained.
Moore remains determined to advocate for systemic changes, stating: "We need to fix it. Not for me as it's too late, but for future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation."