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The career of Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová is facing a devastating blow. The 26-year-old tennis player failed a doping test on December 3rd last year, which is treated the same as if she had been convicted of using banned substances. And now she must defend herself against a heavy ban, in the worst case she could face a suspension of up to four years. "But we believe that Markéta will not receive any punishment," says the tennis player's lawyer Jan Exner, who, together with the player, exclusively described how the entire complex case arose for the websites iSport and Blesk.

For four months, Markéta Vondroušová has been living in fear for her tennis future. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has accused her of refusing to submit a sample during an out-of-competition doping control, a dramatic issue. However, her legal team explains and bases their defense on the fact that the Olympic medalist had every reason not to do so.

It all happened on the evening of December 3rd last year. A commissioner from the German anti-doping agency rang the doorbell at the front door of Vondroušová's Prague apartment. She arrived unexpectedly outside the hourly interval that athletes enter into the ADAMS application every day, in which they report the place and time when they can be reached.

"When I went downstairs, she immediately started talking to me to let her in. She didn't ask for my ID, nor did she show me hers. Nor any paper that she was authorized to do a doping control. It was stressful for me that someone unknown was standing there, wanting to come into my living room and not showing me any authorization. Nothing that should normally happen happened. At that moment, I thought to myself, anyone could say this," the tennis player explains why she refused to cooperate, didn't let her woman into her apartment, and the doping control didn't take place.

Her lawyer, Jan Exner, calls the commissioner's behavior inappropriate. "She wouldn't show ID, she wouldn't show credentials, and she was putting pressure on her: either you sign the paper here or I won't leave," she claims. "My instinct told me to sign, she would leave, and everything would be fine. A stranger at the door is very stressful for me, so I signed the form to be safe," Vondroušová adds.

Lawyer Exner recalls the assault on Petra Kvitová in her Prostějov apartment and the many threats that tennis players regularly receive from disgruntled bettors. Also the fact that Vondroušová was not in a good psychological state due to problems with her left shoulder. At the time in question, that is, during a dark winter evening, she was also home alone without her boyfriend Andrew Paulson. "I'm scared, I don't sleep well when I'm home alone. And if someone knocks on your door in the evening, it doesn't bother you," the tennis player claims.

"All of this triggered an acute stress reaction in Marketa, which we have confirmed as part of the case resolution by several experts, including foreign experts. The fact that the doping control did not take place was due to the fact that she did not control herself at that moment. She did not know what she was doing and only realized it calmly when her boyfriend returned. The protocol was not followed, but Marketa had the best reasons for it," says Exner.

Up to four years of ban on activities Vondroušová's team bases its defense on the fundamental fact that the commissioner did not identify herself or show her credentials. However, she claims in her report that she followed the rules and fulfilled all the requirements. "It will be a claim against a claim. And we will try to prove that the commissioner lied," says Exner.

The version of the tennis player's acute stress reaction, which caused her to lose control, is weakened by the fact that Vondroušová took a photo of the commissioner and shared a message on Instagram with the picture. In it, she complained that the inspection came outside her specified hour window and violated her privacy.

The anti-doping machinery started working quickly, the commissioner's report reached the ITIA and the case started. "We gave the ITIA an explanation right away, but they told us that it was not sufficient for them at that time," says Exner. Neither he nor his client still knows how high a punishment the ITIA is demanding for Vondroušová. "Theoretically, according to the rules, you face the same punishment as if you test positive. In the worst case, it is a four-year ban."

The case is being resolved along two lines. A hearing will be held in London in the coming months before an independent tribunal, set up by the independent organisation Sport Resolutions. The tribunal will hear arguments from the ITIA and the player's defence, assess the evidence and decide on guilt and the length of the sentence.

"We are also talking to ITIA at the same time. Our goal is to have as much evidence as possible to show them that the case is strong, which can motivate them to say: Okay, let's agree to zero, or we'll offer you a short sentence and we'll all get it over with," says Exner, adding that the anti-doping rules consider a case where an athlete has a legitimate reason for not completing a doping test. And he believes that it will be possible to prove that the case of the Czech tennis player falls into this category.

During her career, Vondroušová has taken over a hundred doping tests and none were positive. She adds that three days after the failed December test, another visit from the same German agency came and everything went smoothly. "It was a different lady, she showed her ID, everything went smoothly. For me, it really wasn't about avoiding the test or hiding something. I've taken an awful lot of tests in my life and everything was always fine," she says.

Vondroušová, currently ranked 46th in the world, is not temporarily suspended. She plans to play the upcoming tournament in Madrid and the entire clay court season. Last weekend, she was able to participate in the qualifying match for the BJK Cup final in Switzerland. The Tennis Association was informed of her case and, upon inquiry, the ITF confirmed that even under these circumstances she can compete for the national team without fear of consequences for the Czech Republic. "We stand behind Markéta, we support her and we will help her as much as we can," said the association's chairman, Jakub Kotrba .