By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, July 17, 2023

The Vitamin B defense did not save Sydney Dorcil from a four-year ban.

American baseliner Dorcil has been hit with a four-year doping ban, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced today.

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Dorcil, who has been provisionally suspended since January 13th, will see her ban end at 11.59 pm on January 12th, 2027.

The 20-year-old Dorcil, who reached a career-highest WTA singles ranking of 1,255 last January, was tested while playing a Challenger in Lima, Peru in November, 2022.

The sample provided was split into A and B samples and the subsequent analysis of the A sample found that it contained boldenone and its metabolites, which is "a non-Specified Substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List," the ITIA said.

Boldenone is an "anabolic androgenic steroid and synthetic derivative of testosterone that was originally developed for veterinary use but has since become one of the more common performance-enhancing drugs that athletes test positive for in sport," the United States Anti-Doping Agency reports.



Though Dorcil did not deny the charges, she used the Vitamin B defense to claim she was the victim of contamination.

Dorcil asserted the boldenone in her system was a result of a contaminated vitamin B12 injection. However, the Independent Tribunal did not accept that explanation. The Tribunal also did not believe that the violation "was unintentional" according to the ITIA.

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve