Tennis
The American was kicked out of tennis for negligence. No excuses saved me
Jenson Brooksby / Photo: © Lintao Zhang / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
Now Jenson Brooksby will spend a year and a half out of competition.
American tennis player Jenson Brooksby paid for his frivolous attitude towards anti-doping rules. The athlete did not fulfill seemingly basic conditions that are familiar to any professional. Now his career has been put on a long pause.
All you need to do is report your coordinates on time!
Could be hiding from doping officers
Brooksby’s violations were reported to the Tennis Infrastructure Authority (ITIA). Details of the case were published on the organization’s official website.
As it turned out, Jenson hid his location from anti-doping structures three times over the course of 12 months. He first broke the rules in April 2022. In theory, Brooksby could be hiding from doping officers – in fact, that’s why he was summoned to the proceedings.
The tennis player admitted that it was his fault that he missed the first and third notifications. The second case became the subject of separate discussion. As a result, the commission decided that Brooksby was guilty – he did not tell where he was, while the doping officer was looking for him with all his might.
“Location software is a vital tool in keeping the sport clean.” “Nobody wants players to break the rules,” said ITIA head Karen Moorhouse, as quoted by the organization’s official website.
Until January 2025
After studying all the nuances, the commission decided to suspend Brooksby from tennis for a year and a half. He is prohibited not only from playing and coaching, but also from attending major tournaments under the auspices of the ITF, ATP and WTA. The period of disqualification is calculated from July 5, 2023 and expires on January 4, 2025.
However, Jenson has the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). He is given 21 days to do this.
It is worth noting that the maximum penalty for failure to notify a location is two years of disqualification. But anti-doping authorities did not apply the harshest sanctions.
Why is the phone silent?
However, Brooksby was extremely dissatisfied with the decision. The American believes that the second test missed was not his fault.
According to Jenson, on the day of the meeting with the doping officer, he was in a hotel room that was booked for his physiotherapist. Because of this, the hotel staff did not inform the arriving ITIA employee that the athlete was already on site. The doping officer could have gone to the room and checked for Brooksby on site, but instead he began calling the tennis player on his mobile phone. However, he did not answer the phone – his phone was in silent mode.
— I asked to register the number in my name and even left my passport at the reception desk. But for some reason the hotel workers told the doping officer that I had not checked in. If he had called the number, I would definitely have passed all the tests – I have nothing to hide. Naturally, I will complain to CAS,” the tennis player wrote on social networks.
Brooksby’s version does not seem entirely convincing. Why couldn’t he go down to the reception himself and find out where the doping officer was? Why turn off the sound on your phone when you are expecting an important guest who could call at any moment? It is likely that these questions will be asked in CAS proceedings.
Unpleasant “gift”
Jenson Brooksby began his professional tennis career in 2018. His peak was 33rd place in the ATP rankings, which he reached in June 2022. The American has taken part in all Grand Slam tournaments, his highest achievement being reaching the 1/8 finals of the 2021 US Open.
Brooksby could have climbed higher, but a serious injury suffered at the end of 2019 prevented him. Subsequently, the American suffered from problems with his left hand. In January 2023, he played at the Australian Open and did not take to the court after that. In March, Jenson underwent surgery on his wrist.
The American has a lot of time ahead to finally improve his health and return to the tour with a new experience, albeit a bitter one. But the ITIA verdict definitely ruined Jenson’s mood before his birthday – the guy will turn 23 on October 26. Going to the courts instead of a holiday is clearly not what the tennis player was counting on.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.