British tennis player Dan Evans has been banned for one year following his positive test for cocaine in April, the International Tennis Federation has announced.
Evans has been provisionally suspended since June 26 after failing the test in April at the Barcelona Open.
The 27-year-old claimed at an emotional press conference in June he took the illegal substance out of competition and for reasons “completely unrelated to tennis”.
Following news of the ban, Evans said in a statement: “Following the announcement made from the ITF today I want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this difficult period.
“I am determined to return to the sport I love and compete at the level I know I can in the not too distant future.”
The ITF says it accepts “inadvertent contamination” was responsible for the Evans’ positive test and has backdated his ban, meaning he will be eligible to play again on April 24 next year.
A statement from the ITF said: “On 16 June 2017, Mr. Evans was charged with an anti-doping rule violation under article 2.1 of the programme (presence of a prohibited substance in a player’s sample), and was provisionally suspended with effect from 26 June 2017. Mr. Evans promptly admitted his violation.
“The ITF accepted Mr. Evans’ account of how the cocaine got into his system and that he bears no significant fault or negligence for the violation.”
Evans explained to an ITF panel he had used cocaine when not competing four days before the test.
He then put the drug in a washbag where he also kept an approved medication he took during the Barcelona tournament.
The ITF accepts that Evans’ fingers or medication were contaminated by cocaine residue.
Evans forfeits £91,400 prize money and ranking points in events he played from late-April through June.
