ITF defends stance on Korda drug issue

LONDON, DEC 24: The International Tennis Federation's decision not to suspend Australian Open champion Petr Korda for a positive doping t...

LONDON, DEC 24: The International Tennis Federation8217;s decision not to suspend Australian Open champion Petr Korda for a positive doping test has raised doubts on the federation8217;s commitment to a unified programme to combat drugs in sport.

However, ITF communications manager Alun James said yesterday the ITF was not taking a soft stance on drugs and would be an active participant in the International Olympic Committee8217;s drug summit in February.

James said the ITF had pursued Korda8217;s case vigourously and had followed procedure by allowing its independent appeals committee to rule on his punishment.

Korda tested positive to the steroid nandrolone after the quarter-finals at this year8217;s Wimbledon Championships but he later appealed, claiming he did not know how the drug got into his system.

The ITF did not make Korda8217;s positive test public until Tuesday, when the appeals committee announced it had accepted Korda8217;s claim and had decided not to impose a ban.

Instead, the 30-year-old Czech was stripped of199 rankings points and US 94,529 prize money he earned at Wimbledon.

However, James admitted the ITF quot;needs to evaluate its drugs programmequot; in the wake of recent criticism and the IOC8217;s push for harmonious programmes for all federations.

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Korda issued a statement on Tuesday saying he had made exhaustive but unsuccessful attempts to find the source of the illegal substance.

quot;I wish to state categorically that I am not a drugs cheat and would never seek to obtain a competitive advantage over my fellow professionals by such means,quot; Korda said.

quot;This allegation came as a tremendous shock and caused considerable distress to me and my family,quot; said Korda.

quot;From a professional standpoint my performances since august suffered, as my recent results have shown. Whilst I am in the final stages of my career I still love the game. I am delighted that the committee has cleared my name and that I am free to carry on playing and competing.quot;

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Korda is the highest profile tennis player to test positive for drugssince former world number one Mats Wilander and his doubles partner Karel Novacek returned positive tests for cocaine at the 1995 French Open. Both players were later banned for three months and ordered to return prize money and forfeit rankings points.

Korda also became the second player to be given the benefit of the doubt by the ITF this year. American teenager Samantha Reeves also tested positive for nandrolone in an out-of-competition test last year but the ITF appeals committee decided not to impose any sanctions due to quot;exceptional circumstancesquot;.