Wimbledon champion now banned from tennis has x-rated messages exposed in new report
Wimbledon women's singles champion Marketa Vondrousova sent two X-rated messages on the day she was found to have refused a doping test, a new document states.
Vondrousova, a surprise winner of the 2023 Wimbledon title as an unseeded player, was banned for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in June.
She was initially charged in December over failing to allow a Doping Control Officer (DCO) to enter her house during an out-of-competition test attempt.
The Czech tennis star argued in a hearing that, according to experts, she had suffered an 'Acute Stress Reaction' and 'Generalized Anxiety Disorder' after the official rang her doorbell, claiming that they did not 'properly identify themselves' or follow protocol.
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She also said she feared for her safety, citing the case of her compatriot Petra Kvitova, who was stabbed in the left hand in 2016 by an intruder who was attempting to rob her house.
But an ITIA tribunal deemed that Vondrousova had offered 'no compelling justification' for refusing the test, and gave her a minimum ban of four years - the same starting point for a sanction as when a player records a positive doping test.
The verdict was handed down days before the start of this year's Wimbledon tournament, with Vondrousova subsequently replaced in the women's singles draw by Argentina's Nadia Podoroska.
'This is completely f**ked up...' - Vondrousova messages emerge after tennis ban
The ITIA have now issued their full written reasons behind the sanction, detailing what happened on the night in question.
It first notes that Vondrousova denied the charge on the grounds that the DCO 'failed to adhere to mandatory identification and authorisation requirements', and that the attempted sample was 'mentally and morally impossible' due to the anxiety disorder and stress reaction.
The document then states that the DCO was instructed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that 'the test need not be carried out during the Player's designated one-hour slot for Testing'.
The DCO arrived at Vondrousova's home, in the Czech capital of Prague, to collect out-of-competition samples at 'around 8:05pm', and located the house's intercom system.
The Wimbledon champion is said to have declined to open the door and would call her agent, as she 'had never been tested at home outside of her 60-minute slot before'.
After speaking with Vondrousova, her agent then contacted a redacted WTA official but received no response, with the player herself contacting her partner, Andrew Paulson, via WhatsApp.
Vondrousova is said to have messaged fellow tennis player Paulson: "So like here is ringing some c**t from the doping".
It is from there that there is said to have been contention between the ITIA and Vondrousova.
Vondrousova claimed that she was 'scared' by the DCO ringing her doorbell five times before their first exchange, and said the DCO rang the doorbell again up to 15 times after that exchange.
She then says she went downstairs to let her dog out and to see who the DCO was before then going to bed, stating that she only spoke to the DCO via intercom and told her that she would not be letting her in the house as she did not 'feel safe'.
She then signed a form confirming her refusal to submit an out-of-competition sample but said she 'did not understand the nature or significance of the form, and did not know what she was signing', and instead 'felt under pressure to sign it to make the DCO leave'.
On the form, she said that the DCO wrote that Vondrousova didn't 'take the control in the evening, because the 1h-slot is in the morning'.
Vondrousova took a photo of the DCO and posted it to her Instagram account.
She says she messaged her agent: "This is completely f**ked up."
Her agent told her that they were 'not aware that out-of-hours testing was possible', and had been informed that 'if the player failed to carry out the Doping Control, then this would be considered either an unsuccessful attempt or a Missed Test'.
The ITIA, meanwhile, claimed that the DCO did introduce herself by name and explained that controls could be carried out 'at any time in the day'.
The DCO is then said to have rang the doorbell for a second time after approximately five minutes, and told Vondrousova that she 'would be willing' to wait 'two or three hours' to complete the test.
She is then said to have been told by Vondrousova that she could go home, but replied that she could not 'unless either the Doping Control or the relevant paperwork was completed'.
The pair are then said to have had a face-to-face exchange when Vondrousova left the building with her dog, with the Wimbledon champion having 'repeated that she did not understand why a control was being carried out in the evening when her 60-minute time slot was in the morning'.
The ITIA's version of events continues: "During the Third Exchange, the DCO advised the Player that it would be sensible for her to perform the Doping Control to avoid any problems and explained that the DCO could not leave without collecting a Sample or recording, in writing, the Player's decision not to provide a Sample, and that a failure to carry out or refusal of Doping Control would have serious consequences.
"The DCO also read out loud to the Player to the text at the top of the Form, which the Player waved away."
Vondrousova is banned from all forms of tennis until June 21, 2030.
Topics: Tennis
Ryan Smart