The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms that Gonçalo Oliveira, a 30-year-old Portuguese-born tennis player who currently represents Venezuela, has been suspended for a period of four years under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
Oliveira sought to argue that the presence of prohibited substance methamphetamine from an in-competition doping control test in November 2024 was a result of either contamination via kissing or environmental contamination. However, an independent tribunal found that the player did not provide “clear, cogent, persuasive or concrete evidence” of either scenario, and as such did not prove that the breach was unintentional.
The ITIA sent the player a pre-charge notice of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) on 17 January 2025 under Article 2.1 of the TADP (presence of a Prohibited Substance in a Player’s Sample) and/or Article 2.2 (Use of a Prohibited Substance without a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)).
Oliveira, who reached a career-high world doubles ranking of 77 in August 2020, provided an in-competition sample while competing in an ATP Challenger event in Manzanillo, Mexico, on 25 November 2024.
The sample was split into A and B samples and the subsequent analysis found both samples contained the substance methamphetamine, which is prohibited under the TADP, in the category of Stimulants (section S6.A) of the 2024 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.
Methamphetamine is a non-Specified Substance, and findings for non-Specified Substances carry a mandatory provisional suspension. Oliveira has been provisionally suspended since 17 January 2025.
Oliveira denied the ADRV and requested that the case be referred to a hearing, which was held on 11 September 2025 in London, UK, before an independent tribunal - from which a four-year period of ineligibility was imposed.
Results, prize money and ranking points from the event in which the player tested positive are forfeited, in addition to all subsequent events played by Oliveira between the date of their positive test and the imposition of their provisional suspension.
Time served under provisional suspension will be credited against the player’s period of ineligibility. Having been suspended since 17 January 2025, Oliveira’s suspension will end on 16 January 2029.
During the period of ineligibility, Oliveira is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.
The ITIA is an independent body established by its tennis members to promote, encourage, enhance, and safeguard the integrity of their professional tennis events.
To read the decision in full, click here.
Ends
Published 10 October 2025 15:00
