Dayana out of Australian Open as bid to have ban lifted fails

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday rejected Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska's appeal against a provisional suspension for doping. The decision means that Yastremska, who is ranked 29 in the world, would not be able to play in the Australian Open in Melbourne, which is due to start on February 8. She was provisionally suspended on January 7 after testing positive for a banned anabolic agent used in male infertility treatment.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said Yastremska was positive for the outlawed mesterolone metabolite in an out-of-competition test conducted last November. She first appealed to the ITF's independent tribunal which upheld her ban on January 23. CAS said in a statement that the suspension "remains in force until a final decision is rendered by the ITF". At the time of the original ban, Yastremska took to Twitter to deny any wrongdoing.

"I firmly state that I have never used any performance-enhancing drugs or prohibited substances," she wrote. "I'm astonished and under shock, particularly given that two weeks prior to this test on November 9, I tested negative at the WTA event in Linz." Yastremska has won three WTA titles in her career, with her best Grand Slam performance a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019.

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