Robert Kendrick Banned for Testing Positive

Written by: Staff on 29th July 2011

Robert Kendrick Banned for Testing Positive |

(Above: Robert Kendrick)

America’s Robert Kendrick has been banned from tennis for 12 months after testing positive for a banned substance at the French Open earlier this year, it was announced on Friday.

Kendrick, ranked 105 in the world, was tested in Paris in May and his sample revealed traces of the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine.

The 31-year-old claimed the stimulant had got into his system when he took a capsule of Zija XM3 to combat jetlag and he denied any intent to enhance his performance as a

result of taking the substance.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) accepted Kendrick’s account. However the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme makes it clear that it is a player’s personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance enters his body, whether as a prescription medication or otherwise.

Kendrick’s suspension is back-dated to May 22, meaning he can return to the ATP Tour on May 22, 2012.

On the day of his test, Kendrick had lost in the first round of the French Open in four sets against Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, while his last tournament this year ended with another first round exit at s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands in June.

The Orlando-based player has never been past the second round of a Grand Slam, but he did come close to a famous upset at Wimbledon in 2006 when he took the first two sets against Rafael Nadal before eventually losing in the final set of the last 64 clash

“The ITF announced today that Robert Kendrick has been found to have committed a Doping Offence under Article C.1 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (presence of a Prohibited Substance in player?s sample),” a ITF statement read.

“Mr Kendrick provided a sample on 22 May 2011 at the French Open held in Paris.

“That sample was sent to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Montreal, Canada for analysis, and was found to contain methylhexaneamine, a stimulant.

“Methylhexaneamine is a Prohibited Substance under section S6 of the 2010 WADA List of Prohibited Substances and is therefore also prohibited under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme. Mr Kendrick was therefore charged with an anti-doping rule violation under Article C.1 of the Programme.”