Follow usThe veteran tested positive for methylphenidate
Spanish tennis star Fernando Verdasco has been provisionally suspended for two months after testing positive for the drug methylphenidate, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said in a statement.
Fernando Verdasco has accepted a two months ban for inadvertent anti-doping offence. Details here:https://t.co/wlbn6HaxqP
— International Tennis Integrity Agency (@itia_tennis) November 30, 2022
The 39-year-old former world No. 7 has accepted a voluntary ban until January 8, 2023, after his urine sample collected at an ATP Challenger event in Rio de Janeiro in February was found to have contained the banned substance methylphenidate.
ITIA said that Verdasco explained that he had been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. To treat the condition, he had used methylphenidate as a TUE with a prescription from his doctor.
However, he had neglected to renew the TUE when it expired. Despite the fact that he has since been handed a renewed TUE for the medication by the World Anti-Doping Agency, he has still been provisionally suspended.
“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,” the ITIA said.
