LONDON, October 25, 2023 (ITIA Press Release)
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) can confirm that an independent tribunal has suspended American tennis player Jenson Brooksby for 18 months after it found the player had committed three whereabouts failures in a twelve-month period.
The independent tribunal, established by Sport Resolutions, met on 10 October 2023, hearing from the player and several witnesses including the Doping Control Officer (DCO) who was involved in the disputed second missed test. Brooksby accepted that the first and third missed tests were valid so only the second missed test was in dispute before the tribunal.Having considered the evidence, the tribunal found that Brooksby’s degree of fault for the missed test was high. The tribunal found that the DCO “took all reasonable steps to locate the player” in the disputed test and the player was negligent by not making themself available for testing during the identified time slot.Brooksby, who has a career-high ATP singles ranking of 33, elected to take a voluntary provisional suspension shortly after being notified of the charge and as such, the sanction will be backdated to 5 July 2023 and end on 4 January 2025. During this time, the player is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the tennis members of the ITIA: ATP, ITF, WTA, Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open.
ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse commented, “The whereabouts programme is a vital tool in maintaining a clean sport and no-one wants players to fall foul of the rules in this way. We offer regular support and education to all players who are part of the whereabouts programme and make ourselves available to answer any questions. We urge all players to take the necessary steps to ensure that they are meticulous with their whereabouts filings.”
Three Whereabouts Failures – which can include missed tests or filing failures – within a rolling 12-month period can result in an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under article 2.4 of the TADP, which can carry a maximum sanction of a two-year suspension. In Brooksby’s case, three missed tests were registered within a 12-month period from April 2022.
The player has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the full decision will be published on the ITIA website in due course.
