Russian teenager banned from tennis for nine months following anti-doping breach has been stripped of his 2010 Davis Cup title
It is yet to know whether Alexei Tikhonov will be able to play tennis again after a breach of anti-doping rules at the German Davis Cup final left him with a nine-month ban.
The Russian tennis star is still expected to make a statement before a hearing with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Tuesday.
The Russian tennis star is still expected to make a statement before a hearing with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Tuesday.
The ITF has banned Tikhonov from taking part in any matches from December 15 until March 31 2010 after Wada found him guilty of a doping violation.
The ITF gave the Russian tennis star three months’ probation rather than a one-year ban because it believed he could be rehabilitated in the sport.
But Wada said Tikhonov would have to return to court within eight weeks, making the ban for the Russian tennis star longer than the one-year ban he received after winning the Davis Cup in 2009 for the Russian Federation.
The ITF has banned Tikhonov from taking part in any matches from December 15 until March 31 2010 (AFP)
The Russian tennis star was given his ban for six months, fined and ordered to work with Wada to prove that his behaviour was not connected to doping.
However, Tikhonov would still be able to play tennis during this year’s Davis Cup final against Argentina on February 24 at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
According to Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko, the ban was reduced to nine months due to the fact that Tikhonov still has a year left on his Davis Cup title.
“I think nine months is enough, he is still young and at this moment we still don’t know what exactly happened and who is responsible for the