The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms that Juan Carlos Osorio Hernández, a 40-year-old unranked tennis player from Ecuador has been banned from the sport for three years after accepting a charge under the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
Osorio Hernández provided a sample whilst competing at a WTT M15 tournament in Ecuador in June 2022. Subsequent analysis found that the sample contained methasterone, an anabolic agent listed on the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. The player was sent a pre-charge notice and provisionally suspended from 27 July 2022. The player exercised their right to have the B sample tested, which confirmed the original findings.
The player admitted that the Anti-Doping Rule Violation had been committed and during this process, also admitted use of a further banned substance (andarine). Accordingly, the ITIA issued an additional charge on 8 December 2022, which the player also admitted to.
TADP Article 10.2.1 specifies that a TADP Article 2.1 or 2.2 violation that is 'intentional' and is a first offence attracts a mandatory four-year ban. However, TADP Article 10.8.1 provides for a one-year reduction based on prompt admission and therefore it was determined that the player should be subject to a three year period of ineligibility. The start date is backdated to the date of the player’s provisional suspension, 27 July 2022 and will expire on 26 July 2025 (subject to the player meeting the testing requirements to return).
The ITIA is the delegated third party, under the World Anti-Doping Code, of the International Tennis Federation, the international governing body for the sport of tennis and signatory of the Code. The ITIA is responsible for the management and administration of anti-doping across professional tennis in accordance with the TADP.
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Published 10 February 2023 16:45
