A tennis player has been handed a four-year suspension by the International Tennis Integrity Agency after offering a bizarre reason for his failed test.
Goncalo Oliveira, 30, failed a drug test in November last year while competing at an ATP Challenger event in Manzanillo, Mexico.
Goncalo Oliveira has been suspended for four years[/caption]
The Portuguese-born tennis star blamed a failed drug test on a kiss[/caption]
Both A and B samples given by the athlete returned positive results for methamphetamine when tested.
He was handed a provisional suspension in January following the tests.
The Portuguese-born player, who represents Venezuela, claimed that the presence of the drug could be the result of a kiss.
Per reports from The Athletic, Oliveira called a woman, who has been kept anonymous, to provide a witness statement for his case.
She testified that the duo: “Ended up kissing” after she had “consumed a pill which made me feel euphoria, agitation, confidence to socialize and in the moment a feeling of energy and joy.”
An independent tribunal was called by Oliveira following the initial decision to suspend him for four years.
However, that tribunal upheld the four-year ban, stating that the athlete failed to prove that the kiss was the source of the positive test, on the balance of probabilities.
His time served under a provisional ban was treated as credit against the suspension period.
This means he will next be eligible to play in January of 2029.
Oliveira peaked just inside the top 200 in men’s singles rankings in 2017.
He had more luck in doubles events, breaking the top 100 and reaching a career high ranking of 77.
