SHOCKING: Doubles World Number One Tennis Player Fails Drug Test and Will Miss Australian Open 2020

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova failing a drug test in 2016 was one of the biggest breaking news in the tennis world in the past decade. After being tested positive for Meldonium she said, “I made a huge mistake. I have let my fans down, and let the sport down.” It’s definitely a dejected moment for a professional athlete to deal with, and before the commencement of Australian Open 2020, doubles World Number one Robert Farah has failed a drug test. 

What went wrong with Robert Farah ahead of Australian Open 2020?

Not too long ago, Farah announced his withdrawal from the Australian Open 2020. He cited some personal issues to be the reason for his withdrawal. However, in reality, he has been tested positive for Boldenone (an anabolic steroid) by the ITF. The Colombian Olympic Committee stated that the substance is widely found in Colombian meat. It won’t be surprising if other Colombian athletes are tested positive for Boldenone.

Canada-born Colombian tennis player Robert Farah won Wimbledon and the US Open doubles titles alongside his compatriot Juan Sebastian Cabal. They concluded 2019 as World Number one tennis players in the doubles domain. They were looking forward to extending their Grand Slam match-winning streak in 2020, but unfortunately, things have gone out of control.

“I want to tell everyone about a situation that is making me live one of the saddest moments of my life and my sports career,” Farah stated. “A few hours ago the ITF informed me of the presence of Boldenone in a test that was carried out on October 17, 2019, in the city of Cali. Two weeks before the test in question, that is, on October 7, 2019. I was tested in Shanghai, which had a negative result. And I was also tested at least 15 other times randomly in the international circuit throughout the year with the same negative result,” he added. 

Two years ago, Robert Farah was facilitating betting by promoting a gambling website on social media. As a consequence, he was fined $5,000 and suspended from the ATP Tour for three months in 2018.

Nicolas Jarry tested positive for non-specified substances

Chilean player Nicolas Jarry had been provisionally suspended from the Tour for failing a drug test during Davis Cup 2019 Finals in Madrid. He was tested positive for non-specified substances Ligandrol metabolite and Stanozolol metabolite. However, he denies his lawbreaking activity.

“Last November, while I was playing Davis Cup for Chile, I underwent two urine tests,” Jarry mentioned on social media. “The first one was clean but the second one detected two banned substances. The levels of these substances are so incredibly low that they are equivalent to trillionths of a gram, levels so low that neither substance could have provided me any performance-enhancing benefit.”

He stated that it was not a deliberate or intentional act. And he is “completely opposed to doping.” The incident has occurred potentially due to Jarry’s innocence. It has disturbed his family and loved ones. He will be spending time in examining the root cause of the dilemma.

He further stated, “it strongly looks like cross-contamination caused by the use of multi-vitamins made in Brazil. Which my doctor recommended I take since they were guaranteed to be free from banned substances. My legal team and I will be working very strongly to prove my innocence and for this, I have offered my full cooperation to the International Tennis Federation (ITF).”

World Number 78 Jarry was playing qualifiers in Adelaide. He was defeated in the second round and before that, he participated in ATP Cup 2020.