Russian teenager banned from tennis for nine months following anti-doping breach has been warned of four-year ban
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has confirmed it is investigating an anti-doping breach committed by a Russian player during his comeback from a doping ban.
The teenager, who has not yet been named, will be serving a three-year suspension from the game after he admitted taking a banned substance over the course of his comeback.
But the ITF has now confirmed it has begun proceedings that could lead to a four-year ban that would rule the player out of international competition.
The ITF said: “The International Tennis Federation (ITF) can confirm that a player in the Russian junior tennis circuit has been suspended from competitive tennis competitions until August 24, 2018 for anti-doping violations. The player has not played competitive tennis since March 2017. The ITF will not be releasing further details at this time.”
The ITF has since issued the player a four-year ban and a two-year suspension. It has also warned the player that he will be banned from international competition, including at the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.
The player, who won the $2,900 top prize at the Russian Fed Cup tournament in September, was banned for using anabolic steroids and other banned substances. He was also suspended for nine months for the use of a prohibited substance on May 11, 2018.
An anti-doping control on the player’s supplementing regime revealed he had ordered the use of anabolic steroids and protein powder in the six months leading up to the Davis Cup last year.
The ITF said: “The player had previously had multiple violations of anti-doping code in the 2017 calendar year which resulted in the player’s first suspension from tennis competition. The player was also suspended on May 11, 2018 for the use of a prohibited substance during a match.
“In September 2018, the player was found guilty for two rules violations during the 2017 calendar year. One violation resulted in the player’s first suspension from tennis competition. The other violation resulted in a two-
