19 month doping hell: British tennis player Tara Moore exonerated and cleared for tennis return after eating contaminated meat

British tennis player, Tara Moore is free to resume her career after a doping ordeal that lasted over 19 months from May 2022 after testing positive for anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone at a tournament in Colombia.

Moore from the very beginning protested her innocence and an independent tribunal determined that she was correct in doing so after contaminated meat was the source of the prohibited substances as a result, she and another player Barbara Gatica who was also banned bore 'No Fault or Negligence' for their adverse analytical findings. She was ranked 83rd at the time and was Britain's highest-ranked doubles player, but now is unranked as a result of having her career put on hold for over a year.

Moore reacted to the news after protesting her innocence throughout and used the 19 months in her statement in nearly every line to describe the fortitude, distress and now having to rebuild after having her tennis career snatched away.

"19 months. 19 months of lost time. 19 months of my reputation, my ranking, my livelihood, slowly trickling away."

"19 months of emotional distress. 19 months and my team and I are finally given the answer we knew from the very start. It's going to take more than 19 months to rebuild, repair and recuperate from what we've been through, but we will come back stronger than ever. Thank you to everyone for the messages and support and I hope to see you on the tennis court in 2024."

This 19 months was also a leading point for the PTPA who helped to win the appeal for Moore. The organisation ran by Novak Djokovic has long been getting further footing in the sport and has now helped exonerate a player of a ban they shouldn't have had. "The PTPA is happy for our friend Tara Moore, who has won her appeal. Tara has been completely exonerated, with no fault and no wrongdoing found. However, her win did not come without cost," read the statement.

"This ruling comes after 19 months of being publicly shamed, 19 months of losing her ranking, 19 months of no prize money and 19 months of lawyer fees and fending for herself. Unfortunately there is no magic wand or time machine to truly vindicate her. It's hard to call it a 'win' under these circumstances. This is yet another reason why the PTPA was founded to help players like Tara Moore navigate an inherently unfair system and to hopefully change it."