Own-goal clerical error to cost Verdasco two months

Fernando Verdasco will miss two months on  court in 2023 after being caught out by tennis anti-doping authorities on a personal clerical error.

The 39-year-old Spaniard who one reached seventh in the world and owns seven Tour titles, tested positive at a February Challenger in Brazil for an ADHD medication for which he had an official exemption.

But officials said he failed to renew that permission in what was purely a memory lapse.

As a result, the player who began his Tour career 22 years ago will serve a two month ban – reduced from the normal two year ban for such an infraction.

The 2009 Australian Open semi-finalist last competed on the ATP in Sofia last September, going out in the second round. will be serving a voluntary provisional suspension.

“The player admitted the Anti-Doping Rule Violation and explained that he had been medically diagnosed with ADHD and legitimately used methylphenidate as medication prescribed by his physician to treat the condition in accordance with a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), but had forgotten to renew his TUE when it expired,” an anti-doping communique read.. 

“The ITIA accepts that the player did not intend to cheat, that his violation was inadvertent and unintentional, and that he bears No Significant Fault or Negligence for it.

“In the specific circumstances of this case, based on the player’s degree of Fault, the TADP allows for the applicable period of ineligibility to be reduced from two years to two months.”