SA wheelchair tennis star Lucas Sithole handed two-year ban

South African wheelchair tennis athlete Lucas Sithole has been handed a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for failing to comply with the requirement to make himself available and accessible to testing three times within a 12-month period.

According to a report in Sport24, the two-time Grand Slam champion was charged with missing three drug tests in a 12-month period (February 12, May 22 and June 25, 2019).

Players are required to be available for one hour every day for out-of-competition tests under Tennis Anti-Doping Programme rules.

Sithole admitted to the violation and provided an explanation for each of the three 'Missed Tests', and sought a reduction of the otherwise applicable two-year period of ineligibility.

The ITF considered those explanations, but could not accept those without corroborating evidence, which was not being provided. Sithole subsequently accepted the default consequences of a period of ineligibility of two years.

Sithole's commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.4 of the Programme was confirmed, and it was determined that he is suspended from participation for a period of two years, commencing from September 30, 2019, the date on which he last competed, and so ending at midnight on September 29, 2021.