TENNIS
Why has US Open doubles champion Max Purcell been suspended on doping charges? What banned substance did he use?
The ITIA announced that the Australian tennis player has requested a provisional suspension after using a prohibited method.
The world of tennis has been rocked once again with a new doping case. This morning, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Australian player Max Purcell, a US Open men’s doubles champion and 12th in the ATP doubles rankings, had accepted a provisional suspension by the organisation.
Purcell’s doping confession
In its statement, the ITIA stressed that Purcell, 26, “admitted to having breached article 2.2 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme in relation to the use of a prohibited method and requested to be provisionally suspended on 10 December 2024”.
The ITIA has accepted Purcell’s admission and says that “the suspension was applied as of December 12, and the time under this provisional suspension will be deducted from any future sanction.”
The ITIA also stated in this statement that during this provisional suspension “Purcell will be prohibited from playing, training or attending any tennis tournament sanctioned by the members of the ITIA or any national association.”
What prohibited method or doping substance did Max Pucell use?
Now Purcell is waiting to learn more details about a future sanction for a prohibited method of doping, of which further details are still unknown.
The ITIA stressed that the infraction is related to a prohibited method and not with a banned substance. It added that it could not add any further comment at this time.
Purcell’s is the latest case of doping in tennis to come to light in 2024 after the ITIA had already identified Italian Jannik Sinner and Polish player Iga Swiatek, number one on the ATP and WTA circuit, for having tested positive in several tests carried out this year, in cases that ended with minimal sanctions for both tennis players.
As for Purcell, he won’t be able to take part in next month’s Australian Open in Melbourne. The 26-year-old with compatriot Matt Ebden, won the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon in 2022 and won the same event at the US Open back in September of this year, with Jordan Thompson.