(London) American tennis player Jenson Brooksby has been suspended for 18 months after an independent tribunal determined he failed three drug tests in the same year.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Tuesday that Brooksby had admitted responsibility for his “non-presence” in two of the three tests.
Under anti-doping rules, athletes can be suspended without receiving a positive test, in a situation where they fail to appear for three anti-doping tests within a 12-month period.
“I have never taken a banned substance in my life and have been open and honest with ITIA throughout my case,” Brooksby wrote on social media Tuesday. I understand that it is my responsibility and I will learn from it. I have accepted that two of the [absences] were my fault, but I stand by my point that my missed test on June 4, 2022 must be canceled. »
He mentioned that he was unaware that a doping control officer was trying to find him that morning, and that his cell phone was on silent when he received a call. Brooksby also clarified that no one attempted to contact him on the hotel room phone.
“I was awake and had nothing to hide,” wrote Brooksby, who plans to appeal the suspension.
The American accepted a provisional suspension in July. His 18-month suspension therefore officially began at this time, and will end on January 4, 2025. He has three weeks to appeal the suspension, which Brooksby’s advisor Amrit Narasimhan confirmed to the Associated Press their intention to do so.
Brooksby, who turns 23 on Thursday, has already reached No. 33 in the world. He is currently 301st, having hardly played all season due to two operations for dislocated wrist tendons (on the left arm in March and on the right arm in May).
