Tennis Player Receives Doping Suspension: Claims Kiss as Cause
Professional tennis player Goncalo Oliveira, who represents Venezuela, has been suspended for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The sanction is due to a positive test for methamphetamine in a drug test.
Oliveira’s provisional suspension began in January, following a test conducted in November 2024 during the ATP Challenger event in Manzanillo, Mexico. Both sample A and sample B of the player contained the prohibited substance.
The tennis player, born in Portugal, denied having consumed the drug and presented his defense before an independent tribunal. However, the tribunal determined that Oliveira could not prove that the presence of the drug was involuntary.
Due to the time elapsed since his provisional suspension, Oliveira will be able to compete professionally again on January 16, 2029.
In August 2020, Oliveira reached the number 77 position in the world doubles ranking, his best career position.
This case is reminiscent of similar situations in the world of sports.
French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus was cleared of a doping charge after judges accepted that she was contaminated with the anabolic substance Ostarine in 2024, by kissing her American partner for nine days.
In 2009, Richard Gasquet avoided a lengthy doping suspension when the International Tennis Federation tribunal panel ruled that he had unintentionally consumed cocaine after kissing a woman in a nightclub.
