Who is Tara Moore? British doubles star faces doping ban - what is Boldenone and Nandrolone?

Britain’s number one ranked doubles player Tara Moore has been suspended.

Tara Moore has been suspended after a sample she provided during the WTA 250 event in Bogota, Colombia reportedly contained banned susbtances.

The AITA said her A sample contained Nandrolone metabolites and Boldenone, both of which are on the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited list.

As a result of her ban, which has been backdated from 27 May 2022, Moore will be unable to compete in or even attend sanctioned events.

The doubles star took part in the French Open and is able to request that her ‘B’ sample is analysed as a result of her sanctioning.

Her current predicament will mean that the world number 83 will be unable to compete in upcoming Wimbledon tournament.

What has Tara Moore said?

Speaking after it was announced, Moore said: “I have never knowingly taken a banned substance in my career. I am investigating how the positive result could have occured and look forward to proving I am a clean athlete.

“I am deeply saddened by the provisional suspension and hope to be back on the court as soon as possible.”

The LTA have made a statement saying: “We are aware of the provisional suspension.

“This matter is the subject of ongoing due process which will be managed independtly by the interational Tennis Integrity Agency.

“To preserve the integrity of the process, the LTA will not comment further until the matter has been concluded.”

Who is Tara Moore?

Moore was born in British Hong Kong in 1992 and her turned professional in 2006 at the Guayaquil Ecuador tournament.

She is the number one British doubles tennis player and ranked number 87 in the doubles WTA rankings. As a singles player, Moore is currently ranked at 389 having previously enjoyed a career high of 145 in 2017.

Her best result at a major tournament came at the US Open in 2021 when she reached the third round of the mixed doubles.

Moore and her partner Emina Bektas
Moore and her partner Emina Bektas
Moore and her partner Emina Bektas

She has also made the second round in singles at Wimbledon, a feat she managed in 2016.

Since her debut, Moore has won nine singles titles and 17 doubles titles on the ITF tour, which is the tour below the WTA.

At her recent ITF tournament in Bogota, Moore reached the final with her partner, the American doubles player Emina Bektas.

It is currently unknown how long Tara Moore will face out of the game.

What is Boldenone and Nandrolone?

Boldenone is one of the most used banned substances in the world of sport and athletes will often use it in order to increase muscle mass and strength.

Its chemical structure is nearly identical to testosterone and can therefore stimulate protein synthesis and can release erythropoietin (a hormone which stimulates red blood cell productions in the bone marrow) to the kidneys.

Similarly, Nandrolone is another substance close to testosterone and is a commonly used in androgens and anabolic steroids.

It improves athletes physical performances by exhibiting strong anabolic effects and weak androgenic effects.