ITIA v Irina Fetecău

Tue, May 13, 2025

A decision in the case of International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) against Irina Fetecău has been issued by the Independent Panel.

On 2 April 2024, while competing at the ITF World Tennis Tour W75 event in Florianopolis, Brazil, an In-Competition urine Sample was collected from Ms Fetecău, a 29-year-old Romanian professional tennis player.

The Player’s Doping Control Form (DCF) listed eleven medications, minerals and supplements that were consumed over the seven days prior to her Sample collection, including a Gorilla Alpha Supplement called “Yeti Juice preworkout drink”. The Player also stated on the DCF that she had taken two scoops of the Gorilla Alpha Supplement on the day of the Sample collection.

On 24 May 2024, the ITIA notified the Player of the presence of 4-Methylpentan-2-amine (Prohibited Substance) in her A Sample. 4-Methylpentan-2-amine is a stimulant which is listed in Section S6.B of the 2024 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. It is a Specified Substance and is prohibited In-Competition only. Owing to the categorisation of the Prohibited Substance as a Specified Substance by WADA, the Player was neither subjected to a mandatory Provisional Suspension nor did she voluntarily accept to be Provisionally Suspended and continued competing.

On 3 June 2024, the Player filed her initial response to the allegations. She admitted the possible Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) but disputed the default Consequences as they are set out in the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP). She further requested that the B Sample be analysed.

Over the succeeding months, the presence of the Prohibited Substance was confirmed in the Player’s B Sample, the supplements listed on the DCF, which included the contents of an opened container of the Gorilla Alpha Supplement, were analysed by a WADA-accredited laboratory, the laboratory confirmed the presence of the Prohibited Substance in the Gorilla Alpha Supplement, the Player and her support team made significant efforts to locate a closed container of the identical Gorilla Alpha Supplement with the same batch number, and a scientific expert reported that it cannot be excluded that the roughly estimated urinary concentration of the Prohibited Substance in the urine Sample originated from the declared administration of the Gorilla Alpha Supplement. Based on this evidence, it was accepted by the ITIA that Ms Fetecău had established that it is more likely than not that the presence of the Prohibited Substance in her Sample was due to the presence of the Prohibited Substance as an undisclosed contaminant in the Gorilla Alpha Supplement.

On 5 November 2024, the ITIA formally charged the Player with ADRVs under TADP Articles 2.1 and 2.2.

On 3 April 2025, a hearing took place before Dr Tanja Haug, who was appointed to hear this matter sitting alone.

Whilst not disputing that the Prohibited Substance was found in her Sample, Ms Fetecău sought a significant reduction in the period of Ineligibility in accordance with TADP Article 10.6, on the basis that she bore No Significant Fault or Negligence.

She maintained that she has never intentionally taken any Prohibited Substance and would never do so; she is the subject of regular In-Competition and Out-of-Competition anti-doping tests and takes her anti-doping responsibilities very seriously, as does her team; during her whole career as a professional tennis player, which began in 2014, she had never tested positive; and that she would not have intentionally risked her health to enhance her sports performance, especially with a substance as unsafe as 4-Methylpentan-2-amine, which is well known for increasing the risk of serious side effects, such as rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, and increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Ms Fetecău set out the steps she had taken to obtain confirmation that the Gorilla Alpha Supplement was safe to consume, having consulted her doctor, a recognised sports medicine doctor, on more than one occasion and conducting an internet search, which showed no signs of warning. The Player also asserted that she had been reassured by a negative test result from September 2023, which came after she had begun consuming the Gorilla Alpha Supplement. That test assured her that the supplement had not been contaminated.

The ITIA accepted that the Player’s commission of the ADRVs was not “intentional”. It however argued that having completed an ITIA anti-doping education programme and been subjected to Testing under the TADP, the Player knew and is deemed to have been on speciﬁc notice of the signiﬁcant risk that supplements might contain undisclosed Prohibited Substances. The ITIA further challenged whether the Player had taken sufficient steps to ensure the safety of the Gorilla Alpha Supplement.

In assessing Ms Fetecău’s Fault or Negligence, the Chair of the Independent Tribunal carefully evaluated the relative Fault of the Player by determining how far she had deviated from her duty, under the TADP, to exercise “utmost caution” to ensure that she would not ingest any Prohibited Substances. The Chair found that the Player took sincere steps to verify the safety of the Gorilla Alpha Supplement, genuinely seeking assurance. Her efforts, particularly consulting a recognised sports medicine doctor with anti-doping experience, exceeded the minimum standards set out in TADP Article 1.3.1.

However, in this specific context, these steps were ultimately insufficient to ensure the Gorilla Alpha Supplement’s safety and to fulfil her due diligence obligations under the TADP. Further actions, such as verifying batch testing and certification or choosing a certified similar product would have been possible, appropriate, and necessary.

The Chair also emphasised that, based on the evidence, the Player did not attempt to mask or hide her Use of the Gorilla Alpha Supplement. Following her doctor’s recommendation, she took the Gorilla Alpha Supplement in good faith, believing that it was appropriate and compliant with the TADP and her anti-doping obligations.

On application of the TADP, the Chair has concluded that while Ms Fetecău committed two ADRVs resulting from the presence and Use of 4-Methylpentan-2-amine, the ADRVs were caused by a Contaminated Product. Ms Fetecău therefore bore No Significant Fault or Negligence. A period of Ineligibility of 10 months was imposed. The period of Ineligibility commenced on the date of the decision. Further, Ms Fetecău’s results achieved in the ITF WTT W75 event held in Florianopolis, Brazil from 1 to 7 April 2024 are Disqualified with all resulting Consequences, including forfeiture of all medals, titles, ranking points, and Prize Money. Any of Ms Fetecău’s results achieved in the period from 8 April 2024 to 25 April 2025 are not Disqualified on the grounds of fairness, pursuant to TADP Article 10.10.

Sport Resolutions is the independent secretariat to the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s Independent Panel.

A copy of the full decision can be accessed via the related links tab on the right-hand side.