Cornet charged with anti-doping violation

[January 25, 2018]    MELBOURNE (Reuters) - France's Alize Cornet has been charged by the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) after allegedly missing three out-of-competition drug tests, governing body the ITF said on Thursday.

Alize Cornet of France hits a shot against Elise Mertens of Belgium. REUTERS/Issei Kato

A statement from the TADP said the world number 42 had been charged on Jan. 11 before the start of the Australian Open, where she lost to Belgium's Elise Mertens in the third round.

It said Cornet had violated Article 2.4 which covers missed tests and a failure to provide whereabouts information.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) had said on Wednesday that Cornet was being investigated over a breach of the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) anti-doping rules.

The 28-year-old would be left out of France's squad for the Fed Cup first-round tie versus Belgium next month, the FFT said.

"The French Tennis Federation, despite the consequences that the absence of Alize Cornet is likely to cause for the France team on a sporting level, wishes to show its firm determination to see the ITF's anti-doping program to be fully implemented," the FFT said in a statement.

The TADP said it would make no further comment, other than to deny that the process by which a player can request an independent assessment of the circumstances had not been met.

In a statement Cornet said valuable reasons for her unavailability for testing had gone unheard.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by John O'Brien)

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