LONDON: Former top-10 player and Chennai Open champion Marin Cilic has been suspended for nine months for a doping violation.
The ban was back-dated to May 1, so Cilic can return to competition on January 31, the International Tennis Federation said on Monday.
Cilic tested positive for nikethamide, a stimulant, at a tournament in Munich last spring. The ITF said it accepted the player’s contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat.
As a result, the ITF gave him a reduced penalty rather than a ban of up to two years.
Cilic plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The Croatian has not played since withdrawing from his second-round match at Wimbledon in June, citing a knee injury. Cilic will be ineligible for the Australian Open in January.
Cilic will lose all his results, ranking points and prize money since the Munich tournament. His best result in that span was a runner-up finish at the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament, where he lost to Andy Murray. (AFP)