Wimbledon 2023 girls' finalist Nikola Bartunkova provisionally banned from tennis for doping

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has provisionally suspended Nikola Bartunkova, an 18-year-old tennis player from the Czech Republic, for anti-doping violations. Bartunkova reached the final of the junior Wimbledon Championships last year.

The ITIA announced on May 9 that they had sent Nikola Bartunkova a pre-charge notice of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation on April 16, 2024. Bartunkova provided two samples for doping tests- during an ITF W50 in Trnava, Slovakia, in February 2024 and an ITF W75 in Maribor, Slovenia, in March 2024.

The samples tested positive for trimetazidine, a metabolic modulator often used as heart medication. This substance is prohibited under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, and Bartunkova did not possess a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption to consume it.

As a result, she was handed a provisional suspension, effective from April 16, 2024, and is barred from participating in all sanctioned tennis tournaments until an ITIA hearing.

Nikola Bartunkova was in the spotlight of the tennis world in July 2023 when she reached the title contest at the junior Wimbledon Championships. In the final, she came up short against No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue.

Then, in October 2023, Bartunkova won her first WTA Tour match at the Translyvania Open when she defeated Dayana Yastremska in the first round before losing to Ana Bogdan in the second.

In addition, she also reached the doubles semifinal at the 2023 Prague Open alongside compatriot Tereza Valentova.

"I have never knowingly consumed any banned substance" - Nikola Bartunkova refutes doping charges

Nikola Bartunkova

Nikola Bartunkova responded to the provisional ban, stating that she is innocent of the charges and is shocked. The World No. 282 added that she has never taken any banned substance, and her team is investigating how trimetazidine entered her body.

Bartunkova hoped that the matter would be resolved soon and did not comment further on this topic. The ITIA has not clarified the length of Bartunkova's ban.

"I am completely shocked by this situation. I feel innocent, I have never knowingly consumed any banned substance and I and my team have always paid the utmost attention to what gets into my body. We are now investigating all possibilities of how the banned substance could have entered my body receive and we will do everything to have the temporary suspension lifted as soon as possible. I believe that the matter will be clarified as soon as possible. I will not comment further on this matter at this time," Bartunkova said.

The Czech has mostly played in the ITF circuit in 2024. She last played at the ITF W75 Chiasso in Switzerland and lost in her opening-round match on April 16.