A low-ranked tennis participant from Brazil was cleared in a doping case by the Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company this week after saying his constructive drug check for an anabolic steroid was brought on by consuming contaminated meat whereas he was entered in a match in Colombia.
The ITIA introduced Thursday that Nicolas Zanellato can return to competitors after sitting out for six months whereas he was provisionally suspended.
The group that investigates and punishes doping and corruption in tennis dominated that Zanellato “bore no fault or negligence for [the] anti-doping rule violation,” based mostly on “interviews, evaluation of detailed documentation, and recommendation from impartial WADA-approved scientists.”
WADA, the World Anti-Doping Company, lately ended its enchantment of ITIA’s exoneration of Jannik Sinner by agreeing to a three-month suspension underneath a settlement with the Italian who’s No. 1 within the ATP rankings.
The 23-year-old Zanellato reached a career-high singles rating of No. 458 in April 2024. He has just a little greater than $45,000 in whole profession earnings from singles and doubles, in response to the ATP web site.
Zanellato examined constructive for the banned substance boldenone whereas competing at an ATP Challenger occasion in Ibague, Colombia, in June 2024. Boldenone is an anabolic steroid concerned in a number of failed checks by minor league baseball gamers lately.
Zanellato initially was banned in August, and an enchantment of that provisional penalty was denied later that month.
The ITIA’s full resolution mentions that Zanellato “denied having intentionally or knowingly used boldenone and asserted that he will need to have ingested meat contaminated with boldenone whereas in Colombia, the place use of boldenone as a progress promoter in cattle is widespread.”
Zanellato “obtained additional proof and documentation” that “included detailed receipts, and knowledge on the supply of meat consumed throughout various visits to an impartial restaurant outdoors of the match setting,” the ITIA mentioned.
That’s the reason, the choice mentioned, “The ITIA accepts the participant has established that it’s extra probably than not that the boldenone present in his urine pattern … was as a result of presence of boldenone residues within the beef that he consumed within the days and/or hours previous to assortment of the pattern.”
Zanellato’s “clarification was verified as believable by impartial scientific specialists,” the ITIA mentioned.
He was cleared on Tuesday, making him instantly eligible to return to motion.
A footnote on the ruling says: “For the sake of readability, the ITIA notes that it’s not computerized {that a} case of meat contamination (with Colombian beef or in any other case) will result in a no fault or negligence discovering.”