backKing & Spalding has successfully represented Juan Sebastián Domínguez Collado, a Guatemalan professional tennis player, in an investigation launched by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
Mr. Domínguez Collado faced a potential four-year ban after testing positive for a metabolite of clostebol, an anabolic steroid, at a World Tennis Tour M15 tournament in Turkey in October 2025. Working with the player, the King & Spalding team gathered factual evidence and expert reports to establish that the positive test resulted from inadvertent person-to-person contamination, of which the player had no knowledge. The ITIA accepted the player's explanation and determined that he bore No Fault or Negligence for the anti-doping rule violation – a finding that resulted in the complete elimination of any period of ineligibility. Mr. Domínguez Collado's provisional suspension was lifted on 27 January 2026 enabling him to return to professional competition.
The King & Spalding team representing Mr. Domínguez Collado included Tom Sprange KC, Charity Kirby, and Liam Petch. Jack Ledigo also provided assistance.
ACE provides professional tennis players faced with unfamiliar legal processes and investigations with pro bono support, ensuring equitable access to legal expertise regardless of a player's financial standing and personal resources. Since the program's launch, King & Spalding have secured numerous successful outcomes before the ITIA and remain dedicated to supporting players through the continued development of the ACE program.