LONDON — An expert tennis participant who stated a kiss precipitated a constructive methamphetamine drug take a look at was suspended for 4 years by the Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company on Friday.
Goncalo Oliveira, who represents Venezuela, was provisionally suspended in January following a constructive take a look at in November 2024 whereas competing on the ATP Challenger occasion in Manzanillo, Mexico. Each his A and B samples contained the banned substance.
The Portuguese-born participant denied taking the drug and made his argument at a listening to with an impartial tribunal, which determined Oliveira couldn’t show the drug’s presence was unintentional.
Oliveria receives credit score for time served from his provisional suspension, that means he can be eligible to compete professionally once more on Jan. 16, 2029.
Oliveria reached a career-high world doubles rating of 77th in August 2020.
This isn’t the primary time an athlete has stated a constructive drug take a look at occurred due to kissing.
French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was cleared in July by the Courtroom of Arbitration of a doping allegation after judges accepted she was contaminated with the anabolic substance Ostarine in 2024 by kissing her American associate over a interval of 9 days. She was later cleared by an Worldwide Fencing Federation tribunal weeks earlier than the Paris Olympics, which let her compete there.
In 2009, Richard Gasquet escaped a prolonged doping ban when the Worldwide Tennis Federation’s tribunal panel dominated that he inadvertently took cocaine by kissing a lady in a nightclub.
