Tennis player escapes drugs ban after claiming her mother's cancer medication fell into her food

A top Italian tennis player caught in a drugs test has narrowly escaped a two-year ban, after claiming she had ingested the substance by accident when eating her mother's pasta dinner. Sara Errani, once ranked No 5 in the world, tested positive for breast cancer drug letrozole during an out-of-competition test in February while staying with her parents in Bologna. The 30-year-old claimed that her mother kept her breast cancer medication in the kitchen and that the drug must have somehow contaminated the tortellini,Daily Mail reports.

An tribunal believed Ms Errani, now ranked 98th in the world, and instead of a ban of up to 24 months, she was given a two month suspension. Letrozole is used as a treatment for breast cancer, but is on the banned list due to its qualities as a masking agent and has also been known to be used by bodybuilders to increase lean muscle mass.