London, England, 17 Dec 2009 - The International Tennis Federation announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) has today dismissed the appeal by WADA and the ITF against the decision dated 15 July 2009 of an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the 2009 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.

The independent Tribunal had found that Richard Gasquet, a 23-year-old French tennis player, committed a Doping Offence in that a sample provided by Mr Gasquet on 28 March 2009 at the ATP event in Miami, USA, contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, and a banned substance. The tribunal found that Mr Gasquet had ingested cocaine inadvertently. It also found he was at fault for putting himself at risk of such contamination, but imposed a period of Ineligibility of only two months and fifteen days, rather than the 12-month sanction that is the minimum required under the World Anti-Doping Code for No Significant Fault or Negligence cases.

The ITF appealed on the grounds that (a) there was insufficient evidence to support Mr Gasquet’s claim of contamination; and (b) in any event, the tribunal was not entitled to depart from the 12-month minimum sanction prescribed by the Code for No Significant Fault or Negligence cases.

The CAS agreed that Mr Gasquet had committed a Doping Offence under the Programme, but rejected the ITF’s and WADA’s appeal on the basis that it was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Gasquet’s claim of inadvertent contamination was correct. The CAS further ruled that Mr Gasquet bore No Fault or Negligence for that contamination, so that no period of Ineligibility should have been imposed on him. The CAS did not, therefore, consider the question of whether the Tribunal had been entitled to depart from the 12-month minimum sanction prescribed by the Code for No Significant Fault or Negligence cases.

As the period of Ineligibility imposed on Mr Gasquet by the independent Tribunal has already expired, he remains eligible to participate.

The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme is a comprehensive and internationally recognised drug-testing programme that applies to all players competing at tournaments sanctioned by the ITF, ATP World Tour, and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency and upon a finding that a Doping Offence has been committed, sanctions are imposed in accordance with the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Code. More background information on the Programme, sanctions, tennis statistics and related information can be found at www.itftennis.com/antidoping.

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