Soyeon Park suffers a 13-month ban for taking Phentermine
The 23-year-old Korean player Soyeon Park has never won a match on the ITF pro circuit despite making a debut way back in 2009, appearing in tennis headlines after committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation. The Korean is banned for 13 months (June 2018 - July 2019) when an analysis confirmed that her urine sample contained Phentermine, a non-specified substance under category S6 (Stimulants) of the 2018 WADA Prohibited List. Park provided a urine sample on June 17, 2018, while competing in the qualifying round of the $25,000 Daegu event at home in South Korea, and it was sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) accredited laboratory in Montreal.
Charged with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme (presence of a Prohibited Substance in a Player’s Sample), Soyeon admitted the violation, providing an account of how Phentermine got in her body and it was determined that she bears No Significant Fault or Negligence for the violation within the meaning of Programme Article 10.5.2. This was her first Anti-Doping Rule Violation and the ban was back-dated to the date of the sample collection, meaning she will be able to compete again from July 16, 2019. After that urine test, Park competed at two more events in Gimcheon, failing to reach the main draw once again.
Soyeon never appeared on the WTA ranking list, playing pro events only at home in Korea and some in Turkey and Thailand as well but never reaching the main draw and a chance to earn some points and money. Also, almost all of the defeats came in straight sets and Park will have to bring something more after her suspension if she wants to make a name for herself and become at least a decent competitor on the women's Tour.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2HmaybR
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