Tennis Player Goncalo Oliveira Suspended for Doping: Four Years Out of the Courts
Professional tennis player Goncalo Oliveira, who represents Venezuela, has been suspended for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), after testing positive for methamphetamine. The suspension was announced on Friday, marking a harsh blow to the player’s career. Oliveira, born in Portugal, was provisionally suspended in January after a positive test in November 2024, while competing in the ATP Challenger event in Manzanillo, Mexico. Both his A and B samples contained the prohibited substance. The tennis player denied having consumed the drug and presented his defense before an independent tribunal, arguing that the presence of the substance was not intentional. However, the court determined that Oliveira could not prove that the presence of the drug was accidental. Oliveira’s suspension began in January, and he will be given credit for the time he has already served. This means he will be eligible to compete professionally again on January 16, 2029. The tennis player reached his best doubles ranking in August 2020, reaching number 77 in the world.This case is reminiscent of other incidents in the world of sports, where athletes have alleged that a kiss was the cause of a positive result in a doping test.
French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was exonerated in July of a doping accusation after judges accepted that she was contaminated with the anabolic substance Ostarine in 2024, after kissing her American partner for nine days. She was acquitted by a court of the International Fencing Federation weeks before the Paris Olympics, allowing her to compete.
