US court dismisses Tara Moore challenge in $20m WTA damages case

Tara Moore has lost her latest court challenge in a damages dispute with the Women's Tennis Association arising from the doping case that led to her four-year ban. BBC Sport reported that a United States District Court in New York dismissed the British doubles player's motion and ordered the matter closed.

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Moore, 34, had sought at least $20 million, approximately £15 million, in compensation. She alleged that the WTA failed to alert players to the danger of contaminated meat at a tournament in Colombia, and that this failure caused her positive test and subsequent harm. Those allegations formed the basis of her claim against the organisation that runs the women's tour.

The case began with a test at the WTA 250 tournament in Bogota in April 2022, when Moore tested positive for nandrolone and boldenone. An independent tribunal concluded in December 2023 that contaminated meat accounted for the result and cleared her of fault or negligence. Moore was Britain's highest-ranked women's doubles player when she failed the test.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency appealed that tribunal decision. In 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in the agency's favour, resulting in a suspension that will keep Moore out until the beginning of the 2028 season. Moore has consistently denied intentionally taking banned substances. Her highest career doubles ranking was 77th, reached in 2022.

After the doping appeal, Moore brought proceedings through the American Arbitration Association against the WTA. The arbitrator backed the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling and rejected her case. Moore then asked the federal court in New York to challenge that outcome, arguing that the arbitration process had denied her a fair hearing.

According to BBC Sport's report, district judge Andrew Carter found on Friday that there was no justified legal basis for Moore's challenge. Speaking to the broadcaster after the ruling, Moore criticised tennis's anti-doping system and described the distress the proceedings had caused her. BBC Sport said it had approached both the WTA and the International Tennis Integrity Agency for comment.