Australia’s two-time doubles grand slam winner Max Purcell has been provisionally suspended over an alleged violation of tennis’ anti-doping program relating to an IV infusion. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Monday evening that the Aussie tennis star had voluntarily accepted the suspension, after admitting to a breach relating to a prohibited method.

Purcell, the World No.12 doubles player, accepted the provisional suspension earlier this month, which will rule him out of playing or coaching at any ATP and ITF events – including the four majors. It means as it stands the 26-year-old won’t be able to compete at the Australian Open, months after winning the US Open doubles title alongside compatriot Jordan Thompson in September.

After news broke of his ban, Purcell released a statement on Instagram saying he’d unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100 ml”. “This news was devastating to me because I pride myself on being an athlete who always makes sure that everything is WADA safe,” Purcell wrote. “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 said he had told the medical clinic involved that the infusion needed to be below 100ml since he was a professional athlete, but that the medical records he was given later showed he had been given more than that level.

The ITIA has not yet specified the length of the ban Purcell is potentially facing, or the details of the breach other than it being a prohibited method. “Purcell … 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 ITIA said in a statement.

“The suspension came into effect on 12 December 2024, and time served under provisional suspension will be credited against any future sanction. During the provisional suspension, Purcell is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Federation Francaise de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.”

Max Purcell latest tennis star to fail a drug test

Purcell is the latest grand slam champion to have a case opened by the ITIA – an independent organisation established by the governing bodies of the sport to safeguard its integrity. The agency said last month that French Open champion Iga Swiatek had accepted a one-month ban after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine following contamination of her sleep medication.

While World No.1 Jannik Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing after two failed tests for the anabolic agent clostebol. But he still faces a ban of up to two years after an appeal by WADA. Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios has been vocal on the situation of both players and again chipped in after Purcell’s ban. The Aussienotably claimed that the decision by the ITIA to not suspend Sinner was ‘ridiculous’. He later announced that he was eager to face off against the Italian.

On Monday, the 29-year-old – who previously branded the sport ‘cooked’ following Swiatek’s suspension – took to X once again to speak his mind. ‘Gee wiz our sport is in the mud at the moment,’ Kyrgios wrote on Monday, following the announcement that Purcell had been suspended.

with AAP