LONDON: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) says Brazilian tennis player Beatriz Haddad Maia has been provisionally suspended for failing a doping test.

The ITF says the 99th-ranked Haddad Maia had traces of two banned anabolic agents known as SARMs in a doping sample provided on June 4 at the Croatia Open.

SARMs, or selective androgen receptor modulators, are synthetic drugs with similar effects to those of anabolic steroids and have become increasingly popular with weightlifters and other athletes.

The ITF says Haddad Maia’s suspension went into effect on Monday but will remain provisional until a full hearing. It did not specify the length of the suspension.

Haddad Maia upset 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza in the first round of Wimbledon this month before losing to Harriet Dart of Britain in the second round.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2019