Last Updated on November 5, 2021
The 2021 WTA season starts with a bang. Unfortunately, we are not referring to some surprising result or fabulous match at the Abu Dhabi tournament, but to Dayana Yastremska‘s positive doping control. According to the official statement, the 20-year-old from Odessa has been provisionally suspended pending the hearing under Article 8 of the Anti-Doping Program.
This is an out-of-competition control and the urine sample was collected last November 24 and sent to an accredited laboratory in Montreal. The analysis revealed the presence of one of the metabolites of mesterolone. Mesterolone is one of the “unspecified substances” of the S1 list (anabolic agents) prohibited by WADA and therefore banned by the Anti-Doping Program itself. Positivity entails the mandatory suspension of the athlete.
The following December 20, just a few days after having communicated that she had left Covid-19 behind, Yastremska was charged with the violation under article 2.1 of the Program (“presence of a prohibited substance or one of its metabolites or markers in the player’s sample”) and the suspension began on January 7. Dayana had (and still maintains) the right to apply to the President of the Independent Tribunal established to examine her case explaining why the suspension should not be imposed on her, but at the moment she has not yet chosen to exercise this right.
Shortly after the publication of the note on the ITF website, Dayana relied on her social channels for a reply, highlighting how the low concentration of the substance combined with a previous negative test suggest contamination.
