Australian tennis player Max Purcell has elected to enter a voluntary provisional suspension after admitting to breaching the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that the 26-year-old had contravened Article 2.2 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, which relates to the ‘use of a Prohibited Method’.
The ITIA said that his provisional suspension came into effect on December 12, 2024, but did not stipulate how long the ban would go on for.
Purcell, a two-time doubles Grand Slam winner, has also taken to Instagram to admit he was ‘devastated’ by the news and revealed that the breach occurred when he had ‘unknowingly’ received a transfusion of vitamins that was above the ‘allowable limit of 100ml’.
He added that he had told the medical agency that he was an athlete and needed the IV to be below 100ml.
‘As announced by the ITIA today, I have voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension since I unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100ml,’ Purcell wrote on Instagram.
Max Purcell (left) has elected to enter a voluntary provisional suspension after he had admitted to violating Anti-doping rules
Purcell made a statement online in which he revealed that he had ‘unknowingly’ received a transfusion of vitamins above the ‘allowable limit’
‘Until last week when I received medical records from a clinic showing that the amount of an IV I had received was above 100ml, I was fully convinced I had done everything to ensure that I had followed the WADA regulations and methods.
‘But the records show that the IV was over that 100ml limit, even though I told the medical clinic that I was a professional athlete and needed the IV to be below 100ml.
‘This news was devastating to me because I pride myself on being an athlete who always makes sure that everything is WADA safe. I volunteered this information to the ITIA and have been as transparent as possible in trying to put this whole situation behind me. I look forward to being back on the court soon.’
Purcell will now be banned for coaching or playing at any authorised or sanctioned event by the ITIA during his provisional suspension.
The ITIA wrote in a statement: ‘The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) today confirms that Australian tennis player Max Purcell has elected to enter into a voluntary provisional suspension under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP).
‘Twenty-six-year-old Purcell, currently ranked world number 12 in doubles, has admitted to a breach of Article 2.2 of the TADP relating to the use of a Prohibited Method, and requested to enter into a provisional suspension on 10 December 2024.
‘The suspension came into effect on 12 December 2024, and time served under provisional suspension will be credited against any future sanction.’
Purcell partnered with Jordan Thompson this year to reach the doubles final at Wimbledon, before going on to clinch the men’s doubles title at the US Open, defeating Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.
The Australian won the men’s doubles at WImbledon in 2022 before going on to win the US Open earlier this year
In a statement on his Instagram, Purcell said he was ‘devastated’ by the news, adding that he had told medical professionals that he needed an IV injection that was below 100ml
He had previously partnered with Matt Ebden to win the men’s doubles at Wimbledon in 2022, beating Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the final.
The 26-year-old is one of multiple players to have been embroiled in controversy with anti-doping authorities this year, after Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month ban for testing positive for a banned substance in November.
The ITIA had accepted that Swiatek’s positive tests came through contamination of non-prescription medication melatonin.
Jannik Sinner, who won this year’s men’s singles title at the Australian Open and the US Open, is another to have made headlines in March after he tested positive twice for the banned steroid clostebol.
He was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by the ITIA, who claimed that there was ‘no fault or negligence’ from the Italian.
Shortly after the announcement, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the decision. The case is not likely to be heard until March 2025.
