The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) suspended Jenson Brooksby for 18 months on Tuesday for skipping three doping tests in a 12-month period. Brooksby won’t be able to play until the first month of 2025.
After acknowledging that he was to blame for his absences from the first and third tests, Brooksby protested his second missed test. However, an impartial panel concluded that the American was at high fault for the disputed test after considering the data that Brooksby, the Doping Control Officer (DCO), and other witnesses had provided.
As one might expect, Brooksby expressed his displeasure with the result in a lengthy Instagram post. He captioned his post: “I accepted that two of my missed tests were my fault, but I continue to maintain that my June 4, 2022, missed test should be set aside. No call was made to my hotel room for the entire hour, and the doping control officer only called my cell phone, which was on silent for the last four minutes of the testing window at 6:56 AM. Had the Doping Control Office called my hotel room even once, I would have for sure been tested because I was awake and had nothing to hide.”
He further wrote: “I intend to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. I have been fighting injuries for almost a year, and my return to the sport that I love will unfortunately be delayed a little bit longer. But I will be back, and I hope it will be soon.”
In Auckland, Brooksby advanced to the semifinals to start his 2023 campaign. Before having left wrist surgery in early March, he upset Casper Ruud, who was ranked third at the time, in the Australian Open second round.
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Jenson Brooksby in 2023
Currently ranked no.301, Jenson played his last match on the 21st of January when he lost to world no.12 Tommy Paul 6-1 6-4 6-3 in the 3rd round of the Australian Open (draw).
Currently, during this season Brooksby owns a compiled 5-2 match record. Jenson Brooksby’s most significant result of the present season was reaching the semifinal in Auckland.