Max Purcell Explains Reason For His Provisional Suspension

Tuesday, 24 December 2024 at 06:10

byErik Virostko

Max Purcell was provisionally suspended from competing, and he explained his mysterious suspension.

The 26-year-old Australian is one of the most talented doubles players on the ATP Tour, which is why he was ranked in the Top 10 in doubles. Currently, he's ranked 12th in the world, but likely won't improve that ranking anytime soon.

On December 23rd, 2024, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Purcell started a voluntary provisional suspension, something seen very rarely.

The Australian player voluntarily asked the ITIA to start a provisional suspension on December 10th, 2024, and the ITIA started his suspension two days later.

When a player's suspension is announced, a prohibited substance that they used is usually named as well, but that was not the case for Purcell, who was provisionally suspended for a different reason.

According to the ITIA's statement, Purcell's suspension was related to a "Prohibited Method," which didn't offer much clarity into what really happened in the Australian's case.

Shortly after the announcement, he quickly took to Instagram to explain what happened. Purcell clarified that he received an intravenous infusion of vitamins, which was intended to be 100 milliliters, which is the allowed limit. Unknowingly, Purcell received an infusion, which was above the allowable limit of 100 milliliters.

"As announced by the ITIA today, I have voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension since I unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100 ml."

When he saw the medical records, Purcell also noticed that the amount that he received exceeded the allowed 100 milliliters, even though he clearly specified that he was a professional athlete and couldn't receive more than the allowed amount.

"Until last week when I received medical records from a clinic showing that the amount of an IV I had received was above 100 ml, I was fully convinced that I had done everything to ensure that I had followed the WADA regulations and methods."

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"But the records show that the IV was over that 100ml limit, even though I told the medical clinic that I was a professional athlete and needed the IV to be below 100 ml."

However, he received the news that the amount of fluid that entered his body was larger than that, which is why he has voluntarily contacted the ITIA, confessing the misstep.

"This news was devastating to me because I pride myself on being an athlete who always makes sure that everything is WADA safe. I volunteered this information to the ITIA and have been as transparent as possible in trying to put this whole situation behind me. I look forward to being back on the court soon."

As per his own statement, Purcell tried to be very transparent and honest with the ITIA, which he hopes will help faster resolution of the case. For now, he appears on the entry list for the 2025 Australian Open, where he should form the third-seeded team with Jordan Thompson.