Update: Colombian Robert Farah also tested positive and has been provisionally banned. This is a developing story, and we will update this article as more information comes in.
Nicolas Jarry, the Chilean World #78, has been suspended from all tennis from today. This follows the testing of a sample given at the Davis Cup Finals in November 2019.
The urine sample provided by the 24-year-old was tested by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and found contain a substance on the 2019 WADA prohibited list. The specific substance is referred to as SARM LGD-4033, also known as Ligandrol metabolite and Stanozolol metabolite. These substances fall under the section of the WADA list for anabolic agents.
Jarry was charged with the anti-doping violation on 4th January 2020 and has been provisionally suspended today (14th January 2020). The former World #38 has, so far, not made an appeal to the chair of the independent tribunal, but does retain the right to do so.
The Chilean #1 released the following statement about the provisional suspension.
https://twitter.com/BellshawGeorge/status/1217109015303507968
Recent precedents for similar offenses
The Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia was provisionally suspended from tennis in June 2019 for a similar SARM-based result. It is still unclear how long Haddad Maia is to be suspended for. Therefore it is difficult to predict the next steps for Nicolas Jarry in this case.
Other recent cases that may guide the future for Jarry may include Maria Sharapova’s case in 2016. The Russian’s positive test for meldonium led to an initial two-year suspension from tennis. This was subsequently reduced to fifteen months after Sharapova was found to have committed “no serious fault”.
Current British #1 Daniel Evans was also suspended from the sport, though this was as a result of recreational drug use. The offense, therefore, was treated slightly differently as the drug was found to have no positive impact on athletic performance.
