Jenson Brooksby’s tennis ambitions have been put on the line, but at what price? The 22-year-old American tennis player has found himself stuck in a controversy regarding his very participation in the tennis world. Brooksby is presently stranded in a drug controversy, which could have far-reaching ramifications for him. Although players around the world are required to regularly undergo drug testing, the American’s decision to forego the drug tests has resulted in an 18-month ban from playing.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency has issued an unambiguous verdict concerning the former 33rd-ranked tennis player’s whereabouts failures that occurred within a year. But now, Brooksby has finally broken after receiving a crucial suspension.
Jenson Brooksby breaks his silence over his 18-month suspension
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After climbing up the ranks and giving tough competition to Casper Ruud at the Australian Open, the American tennis player’s final suspension has been handed out unceremoniously. A few months ago, things started falling apart for the American when he faced a professional suspension for missing three drug tests. But now the ITIA has issued a clear decision outlining how he might miss out on the whole of the 2024 tennis season, with the ban ending on January 4, 2025.
Now he has finally opened up about facing the ban, stating his side of the story. He recently took to his social media account to provide his take on the ban after the ITIA penalized him for failing to show up for three tests within 12 months. He stated, “I accepted that 2 of my missed tests were my fault, but I continue to maintain that my June 4, 2022 missed test should be set aside.”
Along with that, he also mentioned how there were uncertain events that led to this decision. The 22-year-old is currently ranked at 301 after he missed out on the whole season. The American could not compete because of his persistent wrist injury. Subsequently, he also made his intentions clear and added, “I was awake and had nothing to hide.”
Jenson Brooksby suspended for 18 months. Very similar case and suspension to the Mikael Ymer’s.
Should miss the entire 2024 season… pic.twitter.com/v8apLFcWnI
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 24, 2023
The most important query, though, remains: has the former 33rd-ranked tennis player reached the bottom? He was also subject to a provisional suspension due to the same issue a few months prior, in July. Additionally, at that time, Brooksby defended himself and expressed his thoughts on several similar accusations made against him.
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When Brooksby denied drug-related accusations
As a result of his three missed doping tests, Jenson Brooksby was handed a provisional suspension before being hit by the recently finalized one. At that time, Tennis.com reported him talking about accepting the suspension as he shared his plan to appeal to an independent panel of arbitrators.
In addition, he stated, “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 bad substances.” Accepting the suspension was something that he was ready for, but at the same time, facing misleading accusations bothered him a lot.
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The young player has continuously and vehemently denied being involved in the practice of taking banned substances as an athlete. All said and done, what do you think about Brooksby’s 18-month suspension? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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