The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that Fernando Verdasco has a charge under the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP) for the Presence of the ADHD medication, methylphenidate, in a urine sample. The 38-year-old Spaniard accepted a voluntary provisional suspension and will serve a two-month period of disqualification.
Verdasco was tested at a Challenger event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in February 2022. The player admitted to the anti-doping rule violation, explaining that he had been medically diagnosed with ADHD and legitimately used methylphenidate as a medication prescribed by his doctor to treat the condition under a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), but you forgot to renew your TUE when it expired.
ITIA agrees that the player did not intend to cheat, that his or her violation was inadvertent and unintentional, and that he or she is not significantly guilty or negligent in doing so. In the specific circumstances of this case, depending on the player’s degree of Fault, the TADP allows the applicable period of Ineligibility to be reduced from two years to two months.
The player voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension after being notified of the accusation. The two-month period of suspension began on the date of the player’s voluntary provisional suspension and will end on Sunday, January 8, 2023.
