Sara Errani is set to return to the tour in October at the Tianjin Open in China following a brief doping ban.
The former French Open finalist was slammed with a two-month suspension in the summer after testing positive for the cancer drug letrozole, which can increase body mass and be used as a masking agent. Errani received a light sentence after the ITF concluded in their investigation that she never deliberately intended to consume the substance. It though that Errani’s food was contaminated with the drug by accident by her mother, who is taking Letrozole.
As a consequence, all of Errani’s results between February 6th – June 7th this year has been annulled, resulting in her falling out of the world’s top 200. The 30-year-old has maintained her innocence throughout and expressed disappointment with her ban.
“I feel very frustrated but I can only try to stand still and wait for this period to finish,” she said in a statement.
“I am extremely disappointed but at the same time at peace with my conscience and aware I haven’t done anything wrong, neither have I committed any negligence against the anti-doping program.”
Errani’s ban will come to an end on October 2nd. Making her eligible to play in Tianjin, which begins on the seventh. It is understood for the remainder of the season the Italian will also play in a series of WTA 125 events in Hua Hin, Thailand (6-12 November), Taipei (13-19 November) and Honolulu (20-26 November).
Next month may still not be the end of Errani’s doping punishment. The Italian anti-doping agency has written a ‘state of appeal’ to the Court of arbitration for Sport (CAS) arguing for a longer ban. The agency believes the ITF has been too lenient with their punishment. It is currently unclear as to how long they are requesting the ban to be extended to or when a final decision will be made.
Errani is ranked 278th in this week’s rankings.
