ITIA launches financial and mental health support program for investigated players

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) immediately announced the launch of a psychological and financial support program for players affected by doping or corruption investigations, introducing a series of measures to support players living through such a situation, following high-profile cases like those of Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek.

One of the topics of controversy during the last year has been anti-doping controls, an issue that gained particular relevance since Sinner tested positive twice for clostebol—but was absolved of any fault a few months later. Amidst an appeal process initiated by WADA, the Italian ultimately chose to accept a three-month suspension and terminate the case, despite having always defended his innocence.

Similarly, 6-time Grand Slam champion Iga Świątek also faced a doping case, resulting in only a one-month suspension, also following an agreement with the ITIA. In both the case of Świątek and Sinner—despite their own differences—criticism arose regarding whether the processes conducted are fair and transparent for all, considering that other players—with lower rankings and resources—have faced lengthy suspensions, even if they were eventually proven innocent.

This was true for players like Nicolás Jarry (11 months) and Beatriz Haddad Maia (10 months), who received long provisional suspensions and were later proven innocent, but the process cost them ranking places and took them a long time to return to the top of their respective rankings.

The case of Tara Moore has been one of the most commented upon recently. In 2022, she was provisionally suspended for testing positive for boldenone and nandrolone due to consuming contaminated meat, keeping her off the courts until December 2023, when the independent tribunal panel determined there was no negligence by the player after she ingested the meat at the same event she was participating in in Colombia.

However, the ITIA appealed a month later, and recently in July 2025, it was determined that Moore "did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat" and that she had "failed to establish that [it] was not intentional." With this, she received a four-year suspension—with a 19-month credit for the time already served in the first suspension.

The program was recently announced by the ITIA via a statement from ITIA CEO, Karen Moorhouse: “Anyone who finds themselves part of either an anti-doping or anti-corruption investigation deserves the opportunity to defend or explain themselves, and we recognize the process can come at both a financial and emotional cost,” she stated.

“No player picks up a tennis racquet as a child with any motivation other than playing the game. Individuals find themselves in these situations for a lot of reasons, and so no matter what those reasons are, and where the case ends up, they also deserve someone to talk to.”

• Up to $5,000 for product testing (medications or supplements that may have caused the positive result) at accredited laboratories.

• Up to $5,000 in investigation aid in cases of potential contaminated meat.

• Pro bono legal support starting from the positive test (previously it was only from the moment the charge was filed).

• Up to six counseling sessions with Sporting Chance, an organization that provides mental health support to professional athletes.

This support program has been launched with immediate effect and will be reviewed at the end of the 2026 season, one year from now. This set of measures begins after the case of Jannik Sinner, who was accused of clostebol doping but appealed, claiming accidental contamination, and was declared not guilty by the ITIA. He ultimately served only a three-month sanction after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had appealed the ITIA's resolution.