Former top-20 women’s tennis player Varvara Lepchenko suspended four years for doping

Former top-20 women’s tennis player Varvara Lepchenko has been suspended for four years for committing an anti-doping rule violation, the International Tennis Federation announced Friday. The 35-year-old’s suspension will run from Aug. 19, 2021 to Aug. 18 2025, when she’ll be 39.

According to the Associated PressLepchenko will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Lepchenko submitted a positive drug test after last July’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The former US Olympian competed in three additional tournaments – including the Charleston 125, a South Carolina event she won last August – before her lab results returned. Lepchenko’s test contained a banned stimulant, leading to her getting a provisional suspension on Aug. 19 – the day her new four-year suspension was backdated to.

In an attempt to avoid significant penalization, Lepchenko told an independent tribunal she didn’t intentionally take the drug but could’ve done so accidentally. The court didn’t buy her story.

“[We found] the evidence provided by the player to be vague to the point of non-existent, “the tribunal said.

Doping scandals aren’t new to Lepchenko. In 2016, Lepchenko tested positive for the heart medication Meldonium, but she was deemed not at fault then. For that reason, the International Federation said Lepchenko is being penalized as a first-time offender.

Lepchenko, a Uzbekistan native who became a U.S. citizen in 2011, once ranked as high as 19th among WTA players and has earned over $ 5 million in prize money over her career. The world No. 128 last played the Thoreau Tennis Open 125 in August, losing to Vera Zvonareva in the second round.