CAS to hear Yastremska appeal before Australian Open

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) says it has begun hearing an urgent appeal by the provisionally suspended Dayana Yastremska so a decision can be taken about her participation at next month’s Australian Open.

Ukraine’s Yastremska was suspended earlier this month after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found a banned substance in an out-of-competition urine sample she submitted.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) had denied Yastremska’s application to have the suspension lifted even as the world No.29 was preparing to compete in the year’s first grand slam, which begins on February 8 in Melbourne.

“The CAS arbitration has commenced and the parties have agreed to an expedited procedure in order to enable a sole arbitrator to issue a final decision by February 3,” CAS said in a statement.

Yastremska, who drew a provisional suspension by the ITF on January 7 but travelled to Melbourne and is currently in quarantine, had denied using performance-enhancing drugs and said the positive test was the result of a “contamination event”.

In a statement on her Twitter feed at the time, Yastremska said she was “astonished and under shock”.

“I firmly state that I have never used any performance enhancing drugs or any prohibited substances,” she said.

She said she passed a drug test at her most recent tournament, in Austria on November 9.

The ITF has said Yastremska provided an out-of-competition urine sample on November 24 which was sent to a WADA laboratory in Canada.

They said Yastremska was charged with an “anti-doping rule violation” on December 22, with the provisional suspension taking effect in early January.

Yastremska has won three WTA singles titles. She reached a career-high ranking of No.21 a year ago. Her best showing at a major was reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon in her main-draw debut there in 2019.

Reuters