30/11/2022 5:30 p.m.
Testing positive for methylphenidate at the start of the year, the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco (125th in the world at ATP) was sanctioned on Wednesday with a two-month suspension by the ITIA.
Slight penalty for Fernando Verdasco. While the Spaniard tested positive for methylphenidate at the start of 2022, during urine tests carried out on the sidelines of a Challengers tournament in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), he finally received a sanction. Indeed, this Wednesday, the International Agency for Integrity in Tennis (ITIA) formalized the two-month suspension for doping of the 39-year-old player. The fault with an oversight of the native of Madrid to extend his authorization for therapeutic use (AUT) concerning this product, which is a stimulant of the central nervous system. While he faced up to two suspensions, Verdasco saw the ITIA show leniency in relation to the situation and its explanations, he who has since renewed and obtained his TUE request for methylphenidate. The agency believes that the Spaniard had not tried to cheat “and will therefore be able to play again from January 9, 2023. As a result, the one who was a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2009 will therefore be able to compete in the Open Australia in a few weeks. Currently 125th in the world in the ATP ranking, he will however have to go through the qualifications to try to integrate the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the season.
