The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on July 29, Friday, that American tennis player Robert Kendrick has been found guilty of a doping offense under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme. This led to the suspension of the player’s participation in tennis tournaments for a year.
Kendrick tested positive for a banned stimulant at the 2011 French Open. The result was based on the sample provided by the player on May 22. Kendrick defended himself saying that he did not deliberately used stimulants to enhance his performance at a tournament. The stimulant in question got into his system because of a medicine he took to combat jet lag.
The ITF accepted his defense and as such Kendrick only got a one year ban. The suspension ends on May 21, 2012.
The 31-year old American tennis player reached a career-high ranking of 69th two years ago. He’s currently ranked 105th in the world.
