Slovakian tennis player Andrej Martin handed doping ban

LONDON (AP) — Slovakian tennis player Andrej Martin was handed a 14-month ban on Thursday for breaching doping rules.

The 33-year-old Martin, who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 93 in 2020, tested positive for the anabolic agent SARM S-22 at the Bratislava Open in June 2022.

An independent tribunal found that Martin “had not knowingly ingested the banned substance,” the International Tennis Integrity Agency said, after he said the banned substance was in a teammate’s water bottle from which he mistakenly drank during a floorball tournament the same month.

During the hearing, Martin’s floorball teammate admitted to adding ostarine drops — another name for SARM S-22 — to his water bottle.

The tribunal said “the burden of responsibility for what players ingest is their own” and decided a 14-month ban was appropriate because the offense was not intentional.

Martin’s ban will end on June 5, 2024.

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