"19 months is a long time to lose": Judy Murray and Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill on Tara Moore's false doping charges
Judy Murray and Jannik Sinner were among the many who reacted to Tara Moore being cleared of her doping charges after 19 months out of action.
Moore was provisionally suspended from tennis in May 2022 after testing positive for the anabolic steroid boldenone a month earlier. However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) lifted the suspension on Moore and Barbara Gatica after it was determined that both players "bore no fault or negligence for their adverse analytical findings and are therefore not subject to a period of ineligibility".
Andy Murray's mother Judy Murray said that she was happy to see Moore's name cleared of any wrongdoing. She also spoke about the emotional and financial stress the 31-year-old went through in clearing her name.
"So happy to see Tara Moore cleared by an independent panel after testing positive for anabolic steroids boldenone + nandrolone during WTA Bogotá in April last year. Panel agreed she had consumed contaminated meat + her provisional suspension has been lifted after 19 months," the Scot said.
"Tara had just broken into top 100 and become the British #1 doubles player. 19 months is a long time to lose at any stage of a players career and you can’t put a price on the emotional + financial stress involved in clearing your name," she added.
Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill was critical of the time taken to clear Moore's name and said that the WTA should reinstate her ranking or provide a provisional ranking to her.
"This timeline is so bad. It’ll take Tara 18-24 months to recover her rankings if everything goes perfectly. Tennis is a unique sport where we are wiped out & back to zero after 12 months. The @WTA should reinstate her rankings or at very least provide provisional rankings," Cahill said.
Tara Moore: "It's going to take more than 19 months to rebuild, repair and recuperate"
Tara Moore took to X to speak out on being cleared of her false doping charges, saying that it would take more than 19 months to recover from what she went through. The Brit also hoped to come back to tennis in 2024.
"It's going to take more than 19 months to rebuild, repair and recuperate from what we've been through, but we will come back stronger than ever. Thank you to everyone for the messages and hope to see you on the tennis court in 2024," Moore said.
Moore attained a career-high singles ranking of 145 while being 77th in doubles. She last played at the Grand Prix Sar La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Morocco in May 2022, where she lost to Cristiana Ferrando in straight sets in the second round of qualifying.