The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne has upheld the decision of the Independent Tribunal in the case of Sesil Karatantcheva, confirming a two-year suspension, loss of ranking points and prize money.

The full text of the CAS Decision is published below as a pdf, and on the CAS website http://www.tas-cas.org/, under the Media section.

See also the original Tennis Anti-Doping Programme release on the decision in the case of Sesil Karatantcheva, a summary of which is outlined below.

SUMMARY

The independent Anti-Doping Tribunal had ruled that Ms. Karatantcheva, a 16-year-old Bulgarian, had committed a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Programme (presence of a prohibited substance in a sample) in that a sample that she provided on 31 May 2005 at Roland Garros, and another conducted out of competition in Tokyo on 5 July 2005, tested positive for a steroid (nandrolone), a substance prohibited in competition under the WADA Code and the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.

The independent Tribunal, consisting of Mr. Tim Kerr QC, Dr. Anik Sax and Professor Vivian James, heard the matter on 14-15 December 2005 in London. The Tribunal determined that a Prohibited Substance (nandrolone) had been present in a concentration above the reporting threshold in both the May and July samples. The Tribunal rejected the player’s defences but determined that the two offences would be treated as one single first offence for sanctioning purposes. The Tribunal therefore confirmed commission of a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Programme and automatically disqualified Ms. Karatantcheva’s results at Roland Garros, requiring forfeiture of entry ranking points and prize money (€110,370), as well as entry ranking points and prize money (US$128,897) from all competitions subsequent to 2005 Roland Garros. The Tribunal declares that the player shall be ineligible for a period of two years commencing 1 January 2006.

Ms. Karatantcheva appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and her case was heard on 5 May 2006.

The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is a comprehensive and internationally recognised drug-testing programme that applies to all players competing at tournaments sanctioned by the ITF, ATP and WTA Tour. The ITF tests at Grand Slams (men and women), Davis Cup and Fed Cup, ITF Men’s and Women’s Circuit, Junior and Wheelchair Tennis Events, and from 2006, manages the testing at all ATP-sanctioned events. The WTA Tour manages testing at WTA Tour events. Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Charges of breach of the Programme are heard by an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal.