A decision has been issued by the Independent Tribunal under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (the “Programme”) that Dayana Yastremska has committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the 2020 Programme, without any fault or negligence on her part. No period of ineligibility was imposed.
Ms. Yastremska, a 20-year-old player from Ukraine, provided an Out-of-Competition urine sample on 24 November 2020. That sample was sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) accredited laboratory in Montreal, Canada for analysis, and was found to contain a metabolite of mesterolone. Mesterolone, a non-Specified Substance, is prohibited under category S1 of the 2020 WADA Prohibited List (Anabolic Agents), and therefore is also prohibited under the Programme.
Ms. Yastremska was charged with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme (presence of a Prohibited Substance in a Player’s Sample) on 22 December 2020 and was provisionally suspended with effect from 7 January 2021. Following a hearing, the Independent Tribunal accepted Ms. Yastremska’s account of how the mesterolone entered her system and determined that she bore No Fault or Negligence for the violation within the meaning of Programme Article 10.5. Where a finding of No Fault or Negligence is made, Programme Article 10.5 provides that any otherwise applicable period of Ineligibility shall be eliminated entirely. Therefore, Ms. Yastremska’s provisional suspension is lifted with immediate effect, and she will not serve any period of Ineligibility for her violation. For the avoidance of doubt, Ms. Yastremska is eligible to resume competition immediately.
This is Ms. Yastremska’s first Anti-Doping Rule Violation. The Independent Tribunal’s decision determines that Ms. Yastremska: (1) has committed a violation of Article 2.1 of the Programme; (2) has committed that violation with No Fault or Negligence and therefore no period of ineligibility is imposed; and (3) is eligible to compete with immediate effect. This decision is subject to appeal by WADA and NADO Ukraine to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.