Banned British tennis player's $20m case against WTA rejected by US court
A US federal judge has dismissed British doubles player Emily Moore's legal challenge against the WTA, in which she sought over $20m in damages after being banned for a doping violation she blamed on the tour's failure to warn about contaminated meat.
A United States district judge in New York has rejected an attempt by British tennis player Emily Moore to overturn an arbitration ruling that went against her in a dispute with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
Moore, Britain's top-ranked women's doubles player in 2022 and a career-high world number 77 that year, tested positive for the substances nandrolone and boldenone following a WTA 250 event in Bogota, Colombia, in April 2022.
An independent tribunal concluded in December 2023 that the positive test resulted from eating contaminated meat and cleared Moore of fault or negligence. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) challenged that finding, and last year the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) sided with the ITIA, resulting in a ban for Moore that runs until 2028.
Following the Cas decision, Moore brought a case before the American Arbitration Association, arguing that the WTA's failure to warn players about the dangers of eating meat in Colombia directly caused her positive result and the consequences that followed. The arbitrator, however, backed the Cas findings and dismissed her claim against the WTA.
Moore then took the matter to the US District Court in New York, arguing that the arbitration process had denied her a fair hearing. She sought at least $20m in compensatory damages, alleging the WTA had ignored a known risk and then blamed her for its own failure to act.
On Friday, district judge Andrew Carter ruled that Moore's legal challenge had no valid basis. The WTA and ITIA have been asked to comment on the outcome.
