Fernando Verdasco was banned for a couple of months after he failed to extend his medical exemption for the medicine he takes, and fellow colleague Daria Saville showed him support.
The Spanish player has been taking Adderal throughout his entire career, and despite the fact that it is typically prohibited, he is permitted to use it as a medication because he has a prescription.
However, he must get an exception, and when his expired, he was prohibited from participating in the sport as he forgot to renew it. The former world no. 7 received only a two-month ban from the ITIA, as they found the breach to be "inadvertent and unintentional", and also that he bore "no significant fault or negligence for it."
Yet, that doesn't change the fact that he now won't be able to compete on the ATP Tour for the following two moths, which is, however, during the off-season, making the ban almost unnoticeable for the Spanish veteran.
Daria Saville, who suffers from a similar condition as Verdasco, recently spoke out in support of him. According to the Australian player, it is very stressful for players to renew their TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption).
"I’ve got ADHD and remembering to renew my TUE is so stressful. Remembering anything is stressful. Even remembering to take my meds is hard. Then I stress if maybe I’ve taken my meds (but forgot) I could go over my prescribed dose and be done for doping."
According to Saville, it's difficult for her to even remember to take her medication, and on top of that, she also has to remember to get the exception, stressing whether she won't go over what she's allowed to take, and subsequently be banned from competing because of what would be considered doping.
This latest example only shows that the life of a professional athlete is not as simple as many see it, as they are also only people and have to battle with different life situations every day.
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