Mikael Ymer breaks silence on doping suspension, accuses ITF of incorrect investigation

Mikael Ymer has been suspended for 18 months with the Swedish star expected to have broken the doping rules.

Mikael Ymer breaks silence on doping suspension, accuses ITF of incorrect investigation

Mikael Ymer in action during the Wimbledon Championships. (credits: Wimbledon)

Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer has been banned for violating doping rules which led to a suspension for about 18 months. The tennis star previously cleared some tests that were organized by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) but ITF (International Tennis Federation) intervened in between, taking matters into their own hands and scheduling the tests again.

Ymer who cleared three whereabouts failure tests previously organized by CAS now blames ITF for ‘incorrect investigation’. He was charged with a potential anti-doping rule violation way back in January 2022 due to his missing out on three out-of-competition test attempts within a period of 12 months.

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He took to his Twitter handle to write about it, “In January 2022, the ITF charged me with a potential anti-doping rule violation for having 3 missed out of competition test attempts in a 12-month period.”

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He added, “I fought that charge at a hearing, and was cleared by an independent tribunal of 3 arbitrators in June of 2022. The ITF appealed that decision despite the fact that the 3 independent arbitrators who cleared me were appointed under its own rules, and asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reach a different decision on the same facts under which I had already been cleared.”

https://twitter.com/MikaelYmer/status/1681220636495036416

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How has the ITF intervened in the Mikael Ymer situation?

Mikael Ymer
Mikael Ymer during the Davis Cup. (credits: Tennis 365)

Mikael Ymer had a nice show at the recently played Wimbledon Championships beating Taylor Fritz in just the second round. But he has now been struck with lightning as he faces an 18-month ban away from the sport. ITF had requested a two-year period of ineligibility after CAS found Ymer not guilty of breaking the doping rules, and just after Wimbledon, the CAS imposed an 18-month suspension.

Ymer talked about ITF saying, “Yesterday, I learned that the Court of Arbitration for Sports has suspended me from professional tennis for 18 months, despite never having used nor been accused of using banned substances. Having already been cleared once, and wholeheartedly standing by the fact that I do not feel that the 3rd offence was committed, I find their decision to try me again and subsequently find me guilty, unfair. On top of that, I find it difficult to comprehend that they found an 18 month suspension to be a just punishment.”

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