‘I can’t eat or sleep’ – Wimbledon champion forced to pay back £100,000 in prize money after accepting 18-month ban
A FORMER Wimbledon champion has been forced to pay back around £100,000 in prize money after accepting a doping ban.
The player won the Doubles at the All-England Club in 2022 and at the US Open last year.
Max Purcell, 27, will be banned for 18 months – a 25 per cent reduction to the standard two-year ban which he received because of his “full co-operation and information sharing”.
Purcell received IV infusions of more than 500ml twice in December 2023 after falling ill in Bali.
The limit under the World Anti-Doping Code and TADP (Tennis Anti-Doping Programme) is 100ml in a 12-hour period.
However, according to Purcell, the ITIA did accept that the infusion over the limit was not intentional and its contents were Wada-approved, providing no performance-enhancing benefit.
Purcell commented: “It was 11 days prior to my first match of the season and was also administered at a 24/7 medical facility in a third world location after feeling unwell and fatigued from training,”
And in a statement on Instagram, he wrote: “This case has been going on for months, seriously affecting my quality of life.
“From being unable to sleep and eat properly and refusing to be by myself, to developing nervous and anxious tics, which I still currently battle day to day.
“I couldn’t sit and enjoy anything without the thought of the case and the endless possibilities of what sanction I would receive.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
“I’m so glad this is finally over for me and I can move on with my life.”
The Aussie will now be banned from playing, coaching and attending any tennis events until June 11, 2026.
As he entered a voluntary provisional suspension in December, the rest of his ban has already been served.
In February, US Open and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month ban after being inadvertently contaminated with banned steroid clostebol by his physio Giacomo Naldi.
He was initially cleared of any fault or wrongdoing by the ITIA before Wada appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
However, the Italian then reached a case resolution agreement with Wada, which saw him handed the ban.