Spanish star accepts voluntary two-month ban ‘to resolve inadvertent anti-doping case’

Former world No 7 Fernando Verdasco has accepted a voluntary two-month doping suspension, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has announced.
According to the ITIA, Verdasco was hit with the ban after testing positive for the drug methylphenidate on the back of failing to renew a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).
The Spaniard was tested at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in February this year and he was charged under “Article 2.1 and/or Article 2.2 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) involving a substance, methylphenidate, which is a Specified Substance (as defined in the TADP) and prohibited In-Competition only “.
The 39-year-old admitted the anti-doping rule violation and stated that he had been medically diagnosed with ADHD and legitimately used methylphenidate as medication prescribed by his physician to treat the condition in accordance with a TUE.
He revealed that he had forgotten to renew his TUE when it expired, but has since been granted a new TUE by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
A statement read: “The ITIA accepts that the player did not intend to cheat, that his violation was inadvertent and unintentional, and that he bears No Significant Fault or Negligence for it. In the specific circumstances of this case, based on the player’s degree of Fault, the TADP allows for the applicable period of ineligibility to be reduced from two years to two months.
“The player voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension after being notified of the charge. The two-month period of ineligibility commenced on the date of the player’s voluntary provisional suspension and will conclude on Sunday, 8 January 2023.”
Verdasco, who has seven ATP Tour singles titles to his name, was last in action at the Open International de Tennis de Roanne ATP Challenger Tour event in France at the beginning of November while his last top-level event was the Sofia Open in September.
The Spaniard has dropped to No 125 in the ATP Rankings and won’t receive an automatic entry for the season-opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open, although he has hasn’t played at Melbourne Park since 2020.
Verdasco’s best performance at a Grand Slam came at Melbourne Park in 2009 when he reached the semi-final while he has also reached two US Open quarter-finals and has one last-eight Wimbledon appearance to his name.
Latest
-
News
Casper Ruud out to emulate Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem
Casper Ruud believes he can win on any surface.
-
Wimbledon
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina begs Wimbledon to maintain ban on Russian and Belarusian players
Elina Svitolina has begged Wimbledon to maintain the ban.
-
Australian Open
Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open win was a ratings flop for American TV
ESPN have released their viewing figures for the Australian Open final and they suggest just 439,000 viewers watched in America.
-
ATP Tour
Felix Auger-Aliassime backed to win Wimbledon in 2023
Felix Auger-Aliassime has been backed to make his Grand Slam breakthrough in 2023.
-
News
Serena Williams opens up on Will Smith’s Oscar slap
Serena Williams says that we are all human and make mistakes in the heat of the moment.
-
Tennis News
Nick Kyrgios escapes conviction despite pleading guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend
Nick Kyrgios saw the common assault charge against him dismissed.
-
Davis Cup
Great Britain braced for ‘complicated’ Davis Cup qualifier in Colombia
Matches will be played at an altitude of 2,600 metres and with pressureless balls.
-
WTA Tour
Heather Watson ends her quarter-final drought with win in Thailand – ‘It was just survival of the fittest’
Heather Watson will now face Chinese seventh seed Xinyu Wang.
-
Tennis News
Toni Nadal shares thoughts on fans’ hostility toward Novak Djokovic as well as Rafael Nadal’s future
Toni Nadal on why Novak Djokovic has so many detractors.
-
Tennis News
Stunning LTA numbers confirm tennis participation is booming in Britain
New figures have revealed that there has been a 47 per-cent increase in tennis participation in clubs and parks across Britain.