The breakaway Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) is supporting former British No 1 doubles player Tara Moore in her $20m (£14.7m) negligence lawsuit against the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), marking a new front in the sport's ongoing civil war.
Moore, 33, was banned for four years after testing positive for boldenone and nandrolone at a tournament in Bogotá in June 2022. She denied doping, and an independent tribunal cleared her in December 2023, finding contaminated meat was the likely source. However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) appealed, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport reinstated the ban in July 2025.
Moore's lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges the WTA failed to warn players about the risk of meat contamination before the Colombia event. She claims the ban caused reputational and financial ruin and that the ITIA showed preferential treatment to higher-profile players like Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, who received shorter bans for similar offences.
The PTPA, founded by Novak Djokovic six years ago, is using its legal partner King & Spalding for Moore's case on a pro bono basis. While not paying her legal bills, the union is supportive, with a source stating: 'We’re supporting Tara, as she has been treated appallingly. It appears clear there are different systems in place for different people.'
The PTPA has its own antitrust lawsuit against the WTA, ATP and three grand slams, accusing them of reducing prize money and imposing a restrictive ranking system. It recently dropped Tennis Australia from that claim after a peace deal, but continues litigation against other tournaments.
A WTA spokesperson said: 'We are aware of Tara Moore’s filing... and will respond through the appropriate legal process. The arbitration was conducted by a neutral arbitrator, and there is no basis to vacate the arbitrator’s award.' The ITIA declined to comment.
