Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer, the world’s 51st ATP player, said on Tuesday that he was suspended for 18 months due to breaches of his whereabouts obligations in the context of the fight against doping.
Ymer explains that he was accused in January 2022 by the International Tennis Federation of having missed three out-of-competition tests over a period of twelve months. “I find their decision (…) unfair,” tweeted the 24-year-old, who remains on a defeat in the 3rd round at Wimbledon last week against Colombian Daniel Galan.
Claiming to have never used substances, he disputed these accusations and was initially cleared. But after an appeal filed by the federation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended the Swede on Monday for a period of 18 months.
According to the CAS, Ymer had not indicated in advance where he would be on April 22, August 10 and November 7, 2021. Athletes must indicate their schedule in advance to allow investigators to locate them in the event of a test. unexpected. From the third failure, they incur sanctions.
The sanction taken by the CAS (18 months) is lighter than that requested by the federation (two years). “I understand that these rules were put in place to protect the integrity of our sport and that they are for a purpose. However, I do not believe I have broken these rules and I have a clear conscience, God is my witness, ”adds the player on Twitter.
