Jordan Thompson has slammed doubles partner and fellow Australian Max Purcell’s provisional suspension for unwittingly breaching the sport’s anti-doping rules as “a joke”.
Dual grand slam doubles champion Purcell entered a provisional suspension on December 12, after admitting to what the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) anti-doping program defines as a “prohibited method”.
Purcell, 26, revealed last week in a statement on his personal Instagram page that he had “unknowingly” received an intravenous infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100ml. He is set to miss the Australian summer and potentially beyond while the matter is worked out.
“It wasn’t great news for me and Maxy – and especially Max. I think it’s a bit of a joke, but there’s not a lot I can do about it,” Thompson said in Brisbane on Saturday.
“I don’t think he’s quite happy, and neither am I, to be honest. Obviously, he took too much in an IV bag, but to get suspended for that, when there are other people who are doing far worse and sometimes just get a slap on the wrist [is] a bit of a joke, I think.
Australia’s Jordan Thompson.Credit: Getty Images
“But it’s not up to me to decide what happens.
“When you look at guys testing positive, then you have Max taking too much in an IV bag, it’s a head-scratcher.”
Thompson is instead playing doubles in Brisbane with countryman Chris O’Connell, who shares the same coach, Marinko Matosevic.
Purcell has not spoken publicly outside his social media statement, but believed he had followed protocols until he saw his medical records.
“I have voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension since I unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100ml,” Purcell said in the statement.
“Until last week when I received medical records from a clinic showing that the amount of an IV I had received was above 100ml, I was fully convinced that I had done everything to ensure that I had followed the WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) regulations and methods. But the records show that the IV was over that 100ml limit, even though I told the clinic that I was a professional athlete and needed the IV to be below 100ml.
“This news was devastating to me because I pride myself on being an athlete who always makes sure everything is WADA safe.”
Tennis has had a challenging year on the anti-doping front, with grand slam champions Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both testing positive to separate banned substances.
They both appealed within 10 days of finding out about their positive tests, meaning their cases were not made public until they were finalised.
Sinner avoided any ban after the ITIA accepted his explanation, but WADA has since appealed that decision.
Swiatek – who missed three tournaments while the process was ongoing – received only a one-month suspension after the ITIA accepted her defence that the extremely low traces of trimetazidine found in her system owed to contamination of her Melatonin medication, which she takes to ward off jet lag.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios’ first official match back will be against big-serving French up-and-comer Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard in the first round in Brisbane.
Knee and wrist injuries meant Kyrgios played only one match in the past two years, but he is fit again and on track to compete at the Australian Open with a protected ranking of No.21.
Another Australian, Rinky Hijikata, drew No.1 seed and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic in his opener, while Adam Walton takes on No.4 seed Frances Tiafoe. Australia’s seventh seed Alexei Popyrin starts against Italian Matteo Arnaldi.
Thompson, the No.8 seed, also received a tricky draw against Italy’s former world No.6 Matteo Berrettini, who made the Wimbledon final in 2021 and has made at least the quarter-finals at every grand slam.
“It’s a tough one,” Thompson said of Berrettini.
“He’s been playing great tennis. He broke our hearts in Davis Cup against Thanasi [Kokkinakis], and he’s got a big game, Wimbledon finalist and US Open semi-finalist.
“It’s tough get rhythm with how big he plays, but when you play tennis, you’ve got to beat whoever is in front of you in a tournament, anyway, or even just to win matches, so it doesn’t matter who you go up against.”
