Jenson Brooksby Makes Australian Open Return After "Unfair And Unfortunate" Doping Ban - UBITENNIS

Jenson Brooksby Makes Australian Open Return After “Unfair And Unfortunate” Doping Ban

By Adam Addicott
3 Min Read
Jenson Brooksby - Australian Open 2023 (foto Twitter @atptour)

Jenson Brooksby said he is ‘grateful’ to be back at the Australian Open after losing in the first round to Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.

The former top 50 player was playing in his first major event since serving a 13-month ban for missing three anti-doping tests. Brooksby was originally hit with an 18-month suspension before a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced it after he disputed the missed second test. It was accepted that his degree of fault was not as high as previously announced.

Brooksby’s return to Melbourne Park was only brief after he lost his opening match 6-2, 6-0, 6-3, to fourth seed Fritz in less than two hours.

“A little disappointed with the loss, but there’s just been so much going on in the last couple years … and I didn’t know if I could get back out here,” Brooksby told reporters afterwards. “So I’m just grateful to be back and just glad to have gotten a match.”

Anti-doping is a hot topic on the Tour at the moment following the cases of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek. The duo have failed drugs tests but managed to overturn their suspensions by proving they were unintentionally contaminated with a prohibited substance. Sinner’s was due to a spray his physio was using on his hands and for Swiatek it was a contaminated sleep medication. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is appealing to the CAS about Sinner’s case.

In recent months there have been accusations of preferential treatment when it comes to dealing with anti-doping violations which the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) denies.

“It’s interesting to see … there’s a lot of different cases like Sinner and Swiatek. I can’t say I know enough about the details on that,” said Brooksby.

“But I do think it’s a little strange how there’s varying suspension lengths for whether you’re testing positive for a substance or like the one I had, where I didn’t.

“That’s a little unfair and unfortunate. But there’s nothing I can do about the system.”

Now back on the Tour, Brooksby said he has received a warm welcome so far.

“Every experience I’ve had is positive. (People) saying, ‘Hey. Welcome back. Good to see you out here.’ It’s been a lot of positive energy,” he said. “I myself have really just been missing being on the road and in these atmospheres.”

Brooksby has been ranked as high as 33rd in the world and has reached the final of three ATP 250 events.

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