Brooksby received an 18-month suspension from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) last year after he failed to complete three drug tests within a 12-month period. The American player was initially given a provisional suspension by the ITIA in July of this year after he committed three whereabouts failures within a year. Brooksby accepted the voluntary provisional suspension for missing the tests but strongly denied any involvement in doping. He chose to go to arbitration, stating in an interview: “Taking the provisional suspension is the best decision that we have to make right now. I’ve never failed a drug test. I’ve never taken any prohibited substances.”
The case was heard on October 10, 2023, and the ITIA announced that an independent tribunal has suspended the 22-year-old, although it acknowledged that two of the player’s missed tests had valid reasons. The ban was backdated from July 5, and Brooksby was originally set to be eligible to compete again from January 5, 2025. However, the ban has now been reduced, and the ITIA released a statement confirming that Brooksby can return to action next month.
“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can confirm that an agreement has been reached with American player Jenson Brooksby, resulting in a reduction of their ineligibility period to 13 months,” stated the ITIA. “In October 2023, Brooksby, who achieved a career-high world singles ranking of 33 in 2022, received an 18-month suspension from an independent tribunal for missing three anti-doping tests within a 12-month period. However, new information regarding the circumstances surrounding the missed tests, which was not previously available during the initial hearing, was submitted as part of the player’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal proceedings. After a thorough review of the new information, the ITIA, in consultation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), determined that the player’s level of fault for the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) needed to be reassessed. Following the reassessment, the ITIA, WADA, and the player’s representatives agreed that a 13-month sanction was appropriate, considering that Brooksby’s fault for the ADRV was not as significant as initially found by the independent tribunal. The sanction will be backdated to the date of the player’s third and final missed test. Therefore, Brooksby’s suspension is considered to have started on February 4, 2023, and will end on March 3, 2024. By reaching an agreement with the ITIA, the player has withdrawn their appeal to CAS. Due to the nature of the newly disclosed information, the ITIA is unable to discuss the specific details behind the reassessment or provide further comments.”
Brooksby expressed his disappointment with the 18-month suspension and shared his version of events in a social media post. “I’m extremely disappointed to learn that I have been suspended for 18 months due to three missed tests. I have never taken any banned substances in my life, and I was consistently open and truthful with the ITIA throughout my case,” wrote the 22-year-old. “I understand that I am responsible and will learn from this experience. I acknowledge that two of the missed tests were my fault, but I continue to maintain that the missed test on June 4, 2022, should be disregarded. On that date, I was in my hotel room for the entire one-hour testing window. The hotel room had been booked under my physio’s name (who was staying with me) because the ATP did not provide me with a room until June 4. From June 4 onwards, the room was under my name, but I had requested my name be added to the room days before and even provided my passport to the hotel front desk when I needed a new key. If my name wasn’t on the room before June 4, I’m unsure why the hotel gave me a key when I presented my passport. On the morning of June 4, the hotel informed the Doping Control Officer that I hadn’t checked in yet, but they showed him their computer screen, which already displayed my room number. Despite having this information, the Doping Control Officer never asked the hotel to call my room, so I was unaware of their presence to conduct the test. No calls were made to my hotel room during the entire hour, and the Doping Control Officer only called my cell phone (which was on silent) in the last four minutes of the testing window (at 6:56 AM). If the Doping Control Officer had called my hotel room even once, I would have definitely been tested since I was awake and had nothing to hide. I intend to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. I have been battling injuries for almost a year, and unfortunately, my return to the sport I love will be delayed a little longer. But I will be back, and I hope it will be soon.”
The ITIA is currently awaiting the outcome of Simona Halep’s appeal against a four-year doping ban. Halep claims that she unknowingly took the prohibited substance roxadustat.
According to the Source tennis365.com