American tennis player given 4-year ban for positive test

LONDON (AP) - A 21-year-old Californian who once earned a U.S. Open berth by winning the U.S. Tennis Association's national girls' championship was given a four-year doping ban after testing positive at a tournament.

Ashley Kratzer's punishment was announced by the International Tennis Federation on Thursday.

Kratzer was provisionally suspended in March for her test result at a WTA event in Newport Beach, California, in January.

The ITF said an independent tribunal determined Kratzer 'œhad not discharged her burden of rebutting the presumption of intentional use'ť and ruled that she is ineligible to compete until March 2024.

She can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Kratzer won the USTA's 18s championship in 2017, which gave her a wild-card invitation to that year's U.S. Open, her only Grand Slam main-draw appearance. She lost in the first round to Tatjana Maria.

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