Barbora Zahlavova Strycova gets six-month ban from the ITF

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova has been banned for a total of six months till the 16th of April by the ITF after testing positive for a banned stimulant, sibutramine, which she ingested as a result of consumption of the weight-loss supplement ACAI Berry Thin.

However, she has denied any intention of enhancing her performance through the supplement.

The young tennis player from Czech Republic has won one WTA singles and 17 doubles titles since she turned professional in 2003. She is also known for having reached the third round of all four Grand Slams, with her best season coming in the year 2010.

The 24-year-old world number 124, who was once ranked as high as 39, tested positive for the substance at the Luxembourg tournament on the 16th of October. The decision, that was pending, was delivered by the ITF on the 14th of February, 2013.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has not disputed Zahlavova Strycova’s account of the circumstances revolving around the ingestion of sibutramine, or that “she (a) met the requirements to satisfy article 10.4 of the Programme (Elimination or Reduction of the Period of Ineligibility for Specified Substance under Specified Circumstances), and (b) bore No Significant Fault or Negligence.”

“Zahlavova Strycova asserted that the sibutramine, for which she did not hold a valid therapeutic use exemption, had got into her system through her ingestion of the supplement ACAI Berry Thin,” ITF said Thursday.

“She is suspended from participation for six months, back-dated to commence from Oct 16, 2012 and so ending at midnight April 15, 2013.”

(Source: BBC sport)