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16 year old girl using this particular steroid? whoa.
By CHRIS LEHOURITES, AP Sports Writer
January 11, 2006
LONDON (AP) -- French Open quarterfinalist Sesil Karatantcheva was banned for two years after twice testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.
The 16-year-old Bulgarian failed one drug test after losing at Roland Garros on May 31, then failed an out-of-competition test in Tokyo on July 5, the International Tennis Federation said Wednesday. Both tests were treated as a first offense by an ITF tribunal that met Dec. 14-15 in London.
The ban took effect Jan. 1, and the ITF said she has three weeks to appeal.
Karatantcheva, who is in Bulgaria, did not comment. She and her father, also her coach, were expected to speak at a news conference Thursday. The Bulgarian Tennis Federation also declined comment.
Karatantcheva beat Venus Williams in the third round at the French Open and lost to Russia's Elena Likhovtseva in the quarters. She was the seventh youngest French Open quarterfinalist in the Open era. Her results at Roland Garros will be nullified and she will forfeit prize money and ranking points won since that tournament.
The ITF said its tribunal "rejected the player's defenses but determined that the two offenses would be treated as one single first offense for sanctioning purposes."
In December, Argentine player Mariano Puerta was banned for eight years for his second doping offense, in effect ending his career. He was the first tennis player to receive a ban of more than two years.
Karatantcheva, ranked 41st, has never won a WTA Tour title, but her showing at the French Open made her a player to watch. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Before a third-round match against Maria Sharapova in Indian Wells, Calif., in 2004, the then 14-year-old Karatantcheva vulgarly pledged to beat the Russian because of a perceived slight during training. Sharapova won that match and also defeated her at Wimbledon last year.
Karatantcheva spends six months training in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the other half of the year in Sarasota, Fla., at Nick Bolletieri's Tennis Academy.
Her parents are champion Bulgarian athletes -- her father in rowing, her mother in volleyball.
By CHRIS LEHOURITES, AP Sports Writer
January 11, 2006
LONDON (AP) -- French Open quarterfinalist Sesil Karatantcheva was banned for two years after twice testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.
The 16-year-old Bulgarian failed one drug test after losing at Roland Garros on May 31, then failed an out-of-competition test in Tokyo on July 5, the International Tennis Federation said Wednesday. Both tests were treated as a first offense by an ITF tribunal that met Dec. 14-15 in London.
The ban took effect Jan. 1, and the ITF said she has three weeks to appeal.
Karatantcheva, who is in Bulgaria, did not comment. She and her father, also her coach, were expected to speak at a news conference Thursday. The Bulgarian Tennis Federation also declined comment.
Karatantcheva beat Venus Williams in the third round at the French Open and lost to Russia's Elena Likhovtseva in the quarters. She was the seventh youngest French Open quarterfinalist in the Open era. Her results at Roland Garros will be nullified and she will forfeit prize money and ranking points won since that tournament.
The ITF said its tribunal "rejected the player's defenses but determined that the two offenses would be treated as one single first offense for sanctioning purposes."
In December, Argentine player Mariano Puerta was banned for eight years for his second doping offense, in effect ending his career. He was the first tennis player to receive a ban of more than two years.
Karatantcheva, ranked 41st, has never won a WTA Tour title, but her showing at the French Open made her a player to watch. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Before a third-round match against Maria Sharapova in Indian Wells, Calif., in 2004, the then 14-year-old Karatantcheva vulgarly pledged to beat the Russian because of a perceived slight during training. Sharapova won that match and also defeated her at Wimbledon last year.
Karatantcheva spends six months training in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the other half of the year in Sarasota, Fla., at Nick Bolletieri's Tennis Academy.
Her parents are champion Bulgarian athletes -- her father in rowing, her mother in volleyball.
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