For Marketa Vondrousova, the four-year ban came as a complete shock. Despite explaining why the 26-year-old did not let the testing official in and hiring LA-based lawyer Howard Jacobs, well known for doping-related cases, she could only hope for a return. However, now, with the ban officially imposed and only an appeal remaining, the Czech has finally revealed the hidden side of the entire ordeal.
“She just said ‘ITF doping,’” the former Grand Slam champion recalled in an exclusive interview with Czech media house iSport. “At that moment, I was scared because I was alone at home and I didn’t know what was going on,” Vondrousova explained.
After that, she immediately contacted her agent, Enrico Molina, and explained what had happened. At the same time, the doping officer from ITIA was standing outside her front door. The entire situation quickly became overwhelming for the WTA player. Looking back, she admitted, “It was a huge stress.”
The 26-year-old also repeated concerns she had raised previously about the way the doping testing process affects players’ privacy. “Is it normal for doping officers to sit in our living rooms at night waiting for us to pee? This is not about avoiding a test — it’s about respect,” Vondrousova said last year.
However, yesterday, she was asked by Jan Jaroch whether the doping officer showed an official ID card and a letter of authorization before requesting entry into her house. The Czech firmly denied that it had happened.
Instead, the 2023 SW19 winner argued that the officer should have confirmed her identity first. “She was supposed to identify me as well. She should ask for an ID or a passport to be sure that she is talking to the person. The commissioner admitted that she knew she had to do it, but none of it happened.”
Vondrousova was then asked about the document she eventually signed despite denying the entry of the officer, which stated the consequences of refusing to comply with doping control: a possible ban. The Czech WTA ace acknowledged that she understood what was written.
“Yes, it was written there for a maximum of two years. They flaunt how educated athletes are and how they themselves did everything right, but the reality is the opposite,” she explained.
According to Vondrousova, an important moment also came during the tribunal that happened a couple of days ago. Her lawyer, Howard Jacobs, asked the doping officer whether she had actually shown her identification card on that December night.
The Czech said the officer answered honestly during the hearing. “She admitted that she had not.”
The encounter that night, however, remained tense throughout. “’You have to let me in,” the officer asked. “I said no, I didn’t know who she was, and she was a stranger to me. I objected that it was night, and that I didn’t know her,” Vondrousova explained.
When she finally signed the paperwork that night, Vondrousova said she had little idea what would follow for her. The doping officer allegedly warned her, “’I don’t think it’s good for you.’ Then she left. I was in complete shock that the doping commissioner behaved so aggressively.”
Now that the case has gone against the Czech player, the saddest part for the WTA ace remains that, according to her, even her anxiety and emotional distress throughout the seven months were completely dismissed during the tribunal.
Vondrousova did not try to defend herself from what had happened during the tribunal. Instead, the former world No. 6 chose to share her emotions openly in a deeply personal IG statement. “It is very tough for me to talk about this, but I want to be transparent with you about my mental health,” she wrote.
“The recent doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress,” she added.
During the trial, however, according to Marketa Vondrousova, she presented her mental state report during the tribunal. However, she said those arguments were ultimately rejected. “They refuted my anxiety states. I really suffer from them. When I’m alone at home, I’m so afraid that I can’t fall asleep for four hours. I’m working on it, it’s my long-term problem.”
The 26-year-old also revealed that she underwent professional anxiety evaluations in the UK during the months of the legal proceedings. According to her, the tests returned “high values.”
Despite those results she got, Vondrousova claimed the doctor who carried out the evaluation later dismissed her condition. She explained that the same doctor appeared before the tribunal and declared that she was “lying.”
When asked why he had never spoken to her throughout the 7 months, the doctor reportedly answered, “I don’t need it; it was enough for me to read the papers.”
Yet, after the decision of a 4-year ban was broken, several current players, including Ajla Tomljanović, publicly supported her. Even according to the veteran Aussie, the entire situation was “a disgrace.”
The Czech then criticized the way ITIA handles athletes’ well-being. “ITIA does not look at the safety of athletes or their mental health at all. In court, they tell you that you are making things up.”
When Jan Jaroch then asked her whether her team plans to appeal the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). For now, Marketa Vondrousova is waiting before making any final decision. “Now we have to wait for them to write down the whole decision. When we study it, we will decide,” she added.
And as the case continues drawing attention across the tennis world, her side is urging people not to downplay what she has experienced on December 3rd and during the trial, while she now waits for the tribunal’s full written decision.
