Decision in the case of Martina Hingis
The International Tennis Federation announced today that
an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the 2007
Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has found that Martina Hingis,
a 27-year-old Swiss tennis player, has committed a Doping
Offence.
Following a two-day hearing in December 2007, an independent
Anti-Doping Tribunal found that a sample provided by Ms Hingis
on 29 June 2007 at the Wimbledon Championships in London,
England, had tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine.
Cocaine and its metabolites are Prohibited Substances under
WADA’s 2007 List of Prohibited Substances and are therefore
also prohibited under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
The Tribunal rejected the suggestion made on behalf of Ms
Hingis that there were doubts about the identity and/or integrity
of the sample attributed to her. It therefore found that she
had committed a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Programme
(presence of a Prohibited Substance in player’s sample).
The Tribunal also rejected Ms Hingis’ plea of No (or
No Significant) Fault or Negligence, on the basis that no
mitigation was possible as it had not been shown how the cocaine
entered her system. It therefore ruled, in accordance with
the sanctions prescribed by the World Anti-Doping Code, that
Ms Hingis be suspended from participation for a period of
two years, commencing on 1 October 2007, and that her results
from The Wimbledon Championships and subsequent events should
be disqualified, with the resulting forfeiture of the ranking
points and repayment of the prize money (totalling a sum of
$129,481) that she won at those events.
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