Marketa Vondrousova banned for four years for anti-doping rule violation

Marketa Vondrousova (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, file)

NEW DELHI: Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has been handed a four-year ban after refusing to take an anti-doping test at her home in December 2025. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said an independent tribunal found the Czech player guilty of violating anti-doping rules. Her suspension will run until June 21, 2030, although she has the option to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Vondrousova, who made history by becoming the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon in 2023, said the incident happened during a difficult period in her life and linked her actions to struggles with her mental health. “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 26-year-old had earlier said she refused the test because of “mental stress” and fear when the testing official “rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves.” According to the ITIA, 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.”

Vondrousova was represented by lawyer Howard Jacobs, who previously helped Simona Halep reduce her own four-year ban. The Czech star now joins a list of leading players linked to doping cases in recent years, including Halep, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek. The decision comes just days before the start of Wimbledon.