Max Purcell returns a shot to Tommy Paul, of the United States, during a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships. (AP)
With the tennis world already rocked in 2024 by failed doping tests of two of its biggest stars, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, another Grand Slam champion has been implicated with doping charges.
Australia’s Max Purcell, the world no. 12 doubles player who won men’s doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2022 and the US Open last year, has taken a voluntary provisional suspension under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme after admitting to a breach of rules, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed on Monday.
The charge against Purcell does not relate to the use of a prohibited substance but instead to the use of a “prohibited method”. He has requested to come into provisional suspension on December 10, which came into effect on December 12.
“Time served under provisional suspension will be credited against any future sanction,” the ITIA said in a statement on their website, without divulging further details.
The ITIA is an independent organisation that has been founded by the governing bodies of tennis to oversee doping violations. It has come under fire recently for how they dealt with two high-profile cases.
Iga Swiatek had accepted a one month ban from the ITIA (FILE)
In November, it was released that five-time Major winner and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance due to contamination of her sleep medication. Swiatek was retrospectively suspended which she served without public knowledge of the failed test, leading to players alleging favouritism from the ITIA.
Those allegations were also made after Jannik Sinner tested positive for the banned substance clostebol and failed two dope tests in March, but successfully appealed his case for accidental contamination, found to bear ‘No Fault or Negligence’ and avoiding a ban. The whole case, however, took place behind closed doors and was only made official in August once Sinner was exonerated. Sinner may still face heat as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS).
Meanwhile, both Sinner and Swiatek will be at the Australian Open which starts on January 12. They will be joined by former World No. 1 Simona Halep, who has received a qualifying wildcard.
Halep, 33, was given a four-year doping ban which was reduced, retrospectively, to nine months. Since then, the Romanian has been attempting comebacks on the tour. She is among the many furious critics of the ITIA in dealing with Sinner and Swiatek, when other players have taken months, even years, to successfully appeal their cases.
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