NEW YORK — For the first time in more than three years — and for the first time since she served a doping ban — former top-20 tennis player Varvara Lepchenko played in a Grand Slam tournament, making it to the second round at the U.S. Open when her opponent stopped playing because of illness.
Lepchenko is a 38-year-old American who is currently ranked 199th and earned a spot in the women’s singles bracket at Flushing Meadows by winning three matches in the qualifying event. She hadn’t participated in the main draw at a major since the 2021 French Open; a couple of months later, Lepchenko tested positive for a banned stimulant, drawing a four-year provisional ban that later was reduced to 21 months.
“Enjoying my second life on tour. Or maybe my last life on tour,” she said with a laugh after Brenda Fruhvirtova retired from their match in the first set. “I was a bit nervous being back. But it just feels great.”
Lepchenko appealed her four-year punishment to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying she found in a travel bag capsules that were determined to contain the substance for which she tested positive — an ingredient not listed on the bottle’s label. The reduced penalty expired in May 2023.
“For me, (the suspension) was a really dark moment,” she said in an interview. “I felt like I was in jail.”
That was Lepchenko’s second doping case, but it was treated as though it were her first because she was ruled to be not at fault in the earlier case, which involved testing positive in 2016 for meldonium, the heart medication that led to Maria Sharapova’s doping ban.
When Lepchenko returned to competition a year ago, she said, “I started from zero. No rankings points. No ranking. A lot of people didn’t believe I could come back again. It was all on me. Nobody outside believed in me. But I didn’t care what anyone else was saying.”
Lepchenko was born in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, later moving with her father and sister to Florida. She was granted political asylum, began living in Pennsylvania in 2003, and became a U.S. citizen in 2011. She represented the United States at the Olympics and in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Her career-high ranking of No. 19 came in 2012, the year she made it to the fourth round of a major for the first time at the French Open, beating 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone there. Lepchenko reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open nine years ago.
By getting to the second round this time, she is guaranteed a paycheck of at least $140,000. If she beats Anastasia Potapova, that would climb to $215,000. Potapova eliminated 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in the first round.
“I don’t want to just think about points and money. I want to fulfill my soul. This is my passion. This is my childhood dream — what’s been driving me since I was 6 years old,” Lepchenko said. “This feeling comes first, and everything else is a big bonus.”