Explained: Why WTA Is Facing A $20M Lawsuit From A Tennis Star Over 'Career-Ending' Claims

Last Updated:February 23, 2026, 09:11 IST

Tara Moore files a 20M lawsuit against WTA, alleging negligence over contaminated meat warnings after her doping suspension.

Veteran British tennis star Tara Moore, who was accused of doping, has blamed the WTA for ruining her career and has slammed a $20M lawsuit on the governing body of women’s tennis.

Moore’s legal team has accused the WTA of ‘career‑ending’ negligence, alleging that the tour didn’t warn players about the risks of consuming contaminated meat.

In May 2022, Moore was suspended after tests detected traces of the banned substances boldenone and nandrolone in her system. Her ban was lifted in December 2023 when an independent panel ruled she wasn’t at fault, concluding the substances entered her body through contaminated meat consumed during a tournament in Bogotá, Colombia.

But the International Tennis Integrity Agency later appealed the lifting of Moore’s ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. CAS sided with the ITIA, reinstating her original four‑year suspension beginning July 2025, while deducting 19 months for time already served under her provisional ban.

“The action, brought by King & Spalding and Reeves & Weiss, claims the WTA failed to warn athletes about contaminated meat risks in Bogotá, Colombia, leading to the player’s positive steroid test in April 2022, despite issuing similar warnings for other locations," Moore’s case summary against WTA reads.

After her four‑year suspension was reinstated last year, she took to social media to voice her anger, issuing a statement that laid bare her frustrations with tennis’ current anti‑doping system.

“To be innocent and to have to prove that is an incredibly gruelling process. Firstly, you are trying to figure out what these things are; secondly, you are figuring out how and why these things got into your system," Moore said.

“The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this. Not for me, as it is too late, but for future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation. I have so much more to say when the time is right," Moore added.

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