World No 51 tennis star Mikael Ymer is BANNED for 18 months from tennis over an anti-doping violation… but Swedish player claims his ‘conscience is clear’
Tennis star Mikael Ymer, world number 51, banned from playing tennis for 18 months over doping violation… but Swedish player claims his ‘conscience is clear’
Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer has been suspended for 18 months for a doping violation.
The 24-year-old, ranked 51, was convicted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport of three errors in the whereabouts system, which requires athletes to be available for drug testing for a period of one hour a day, over 12 months.
Ymer, who upset ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz en route to the third round of Wimbledon this month, was initially acquitted by an independent tribunal, but the International Tennis Federation appealed the decision to CAS.
The dispute centered on the third failure on the eve of a tournament in Roanne, France in November 2021, with Ymer claiming he was not at fault.
However, the CAS panel took a different view and handed him an 18-month suspension, slightly less than the two-year sanction the ITF had requested.
Mikael Ymer has been suspended for 18 months for a doping violation
The Swedish player was initially acquitted, but CAS imposed a sanction following an ITF appeal
Ymer had upset ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz, left, en route to the third round at Wimbledon
A CAS statement read: “Following a hearing on April 25, 2023, the CAS panel responsible for the case deliberated and concluded that the player failed to ensure his anti-doping compliance by failing to provide his whereabouts information for November 7, 2021 to be verified. , and by assuming that any discrepancy between his actual and stated whereabouts would be corrected by his agent or by the tennis authorities.”
Commenting on the ruling on Twitter, Ymer wrote: “Yesterday I learned that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has suspended me from professional tennis for 18 months, despite the fact that I have never used any banned substance nor have I been charged with it.
“I have already been acquitted once and stand by my whole heart that I do not feel that the third offense has been committed.
‘Moreover, I find it difficult to comprehend that they thought an 18-month suspension was a justified punishment.
“I understand that these rules have been put in place to protect the integrity of our sport, and they are there for a reason. However, I do not believe I have broken those rules, and my conscience is clear with God as my witness.’