Ex-Wimbledon champion Vondrousova says mental stress led to doping incident

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has been charged with a doping offence by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

The Czech player, who triumphed at the All England Club in 2023, is alleged to have refused a drugs test in December.

If found guilty of the anti-doping violation, she could face a suspension of up to four years.

In an Instagram post published on Friday afternoon, Vondrousova opened up about her mental health and said the incident ‌occurred because she had “reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress”.

She claimed to have felt “scared” when a doping control officer arrived at her home at 8.15pm demanding an immediate test.

A statement from an ITIA spokesman read: “We are aware of the player’s comments.

“We can confirm that an investigation is under way and the player has been charged with refusing a test. At this stage, we are not able to comment any further on the specifics.”

Vondrousova has elected not to take a provisional suspension and the offence does not warrant an immediate ban, meaning she is free to compete for the time being.

The 26-year-old has not played a tournament since the Adelaide International in January and withdrew from the Australian Open citing a shoulder injury.

In December, she had described an incident where a tester arrived at her house late in the evening as a “serious intrusion” into her privacy.

According to ITIA rules, a player “evading sample collection or refusing or failing to submit to sample collection without compelling justification after notification by a duly authorised person” is deemed an anti-doping violation.

Vondrousova, who is ranked 46th in the world and won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, said she is working to clear her name and had not attempted to avoid being tested.

Her social media post on Friday, which was released before the ITIA statement, read: “It is very tough for me to talk about this, but I want to be transparent with you about my mental health.

“For a long time, I’ve been dealing with ​injury, constant pressure and ongoing sleep issues that left me feeling exhausted and fragile. It slowly wore me down more than I probably realised at the time.

“Years of hateful messages and threats have affected how safe I feel in my own space. When someone rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves or following protocol — I reacted as ​a person who felt scared.

“In that moment, it was about feeling safe, not about avoiding anything.”