Richard Pagliaro | Monday, June 22, 2026
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Marketa Vondrousova’s refusal to take a drug test was wrong. But her four-year suspension is ”ridiculous” ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe told Tennis Now.
The 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova was hit with a four-year ban for refusing an anti-doping test in December of 2025, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced today.
Under anti-doping rules, “when a player refuses a test must be the same as if they had tested positive. This is to ensure that anyone who is doping cannot serve a shorter ban simply by refusing to be tested,” the ITIA said.
Asked his reaction to Vondrousova’s ban during an ESPN Zoom call with the media today to promote the network’s Wimbledon coverage starting on June 29th, Patrick McEnroe told Tennis Now’s Chris Oddo the four-year ban is “way too harsh.”
“Four years is ridiculous. I mean, that’s way too harsh,” Patrick McEnroe told Tennis Now today. “I mean, two I could see. Even that to me would be harsh. One year, okay, you’re going to get it. But four years, really?
“I’m sure she’s appealing it. She should get punished, but four years is way too extreme.”
The four-year ban has evoked outrage in some, who question how world No. 1 Jannik Sinner was given a reduced three-month suspension after failing a doping test, while Vondrousova, who did not fail a test, was hit with a four-year ban.
World No. 1 Sinner served a three-month suspension that banned him from tennis from February 9-May 4th, 2025 to settle his case, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced last year. WADA had appealed Sinner’s case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport with the Italian Davis Cup hero facing the prospect of a one year or more suspension if the appeal was successful.
Sinner twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol in “low levels” the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced in August days before the start of the US Open. Two-time Australian Open champion Sinner was not suspended and permitted to play because an independent tribunal ruled he was at “no fault” for the steroid contamination in his system. The three-month suspension meant Sinner did not miss a major as a result of his positive test.
In an Instagram post today, Vondrousova said she’s never failed a doping test.
“I have never doped,” Vondrousova said. “I have never had a positive test. Throughout my entire career, I have undergone countless anti-doping controls and have always stepped onto the court with a clear conscience.
“Just three days after the incident that ultimately changed my life, I was tested again. The result was negative just like every test before it.”
Last year, Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic called Sinner’s case “strange” and said most players he’s talked to do not believe the resolution was fair.
“Jannik will have a three-month suspension due to some mistakes and negligence of some members of his team, who are working on the tour,” Djokovic told the media in Doha in February of 2025. “This is also something that I personally and many other players find strange.
“I have spoken to several players in the locker room, not only in the last few days but also in the months before.
“Most of them are not satisfied with how the whole process has gone and do not think it was fair. Many believe that there was favoritism.”
Pointing to the fact both Simona Halep and Britain’s Tara Moore were hit with harsher sentences in their doping cases, Djokovic said many players see a double standard in the system.
“Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players that are maybe less known that have been struggling to resolve their cases for years, or have gotten the ban for years,” Djokovic said