In October 2021 the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the French wheelchair tennis player Stéphane Houdet for his whereabouts filing failures and 3 missed tests within a 12 month period.
After notification the Athlete the Parathlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the ITF Independent Tribunal.
The Athlete denied the charge, confirmed the second Missed Test and disputed the validity of his first and third Missed Tests. Further he alleged that the misconduct of a ITF Review Board Member should invalidate the procedure and should effect the outcome of the case.
The Panel dismissed the Athlete's allegations regarding the Review Board Member and finds this request in any event without merit. The Panel assessed in detail the circumstances and the conduct of the Athlete and DCO in question regarding the first and third missed tests.
The Panel concludes that the Athlete had acted with a degree of Fault in his obligation to be present and available for testing. Bij contrast the Panel concludes that the DCO did what was reasonable in the circumstances to locate the Athlete.
The Panel regards that the Athlete had been tested before out-of-competition without issues for many years. He had long been an advocate for anti-doping and after the Missed Tests he made serious attempts to correct his mistakes.
Further the Panel establishes that there had been delays in the proceedings not interely attributed to the Athlete whereas there were no grounds to retroactively disqualify the Athlete's results.
Therefore the ITF decides on 30 June 2022 to impose a 15 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting backdated on 27 December 2021.
