Wimbledon runner-up Bartunkova was banned for a doping violation

LONDON – Last year’s Wimbledon girls’ singles runner-up Nikola Bartunkova has been provisionally suspended for an anti-doping violation, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Thursday.

According to a statement, the 18-year-old Czech tested positive for trimetazidine, which is banned under the tennis anti-doping program, in February and again in March.

Trimetazidine is a metabolic modulator sometimes used as a heart medication and Bartunkova, who reached a career-best 226 in the WTA rankings in April, did not have a medical exemption (TUE).

Bartunkova was beaten by American Clervie Ngounoue in the Wimbledon junior final last year. REUTERS