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Mikael Ymer was recently slapped with an 18-month doping ban from professional tennis. His suspension has prompted tennis fans to criticize The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), citing an unjust decision.
Sweden's top player, Ymer, was charged for the violation of a potential anti-doping rule in January 2022 after the World No. 51 skipped three out-of-competition doping tests, in compliance with the mandatory attempts in 12 months of 2021.
Despite declaring and claiming his innocence to an independent three-person tribunal appointed by the ITF, the Swede was recently handed an 18-month suspension by the CAS. Following the arbitration's decision, Mikael Ymer took to Twitter to express his vexation over the verdict and argued that he had done nothing appalling in his life.
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Moreover, the incident caught the eyes of tennis fans who expressed their displeasure over the decision. One tennis fan explored the angle of racism and stated that the suspension would have been backdated if a white person was in question.
"Isn't it funny how they'd mostly backdate suspensions for white players, but Mikel have to serve all the 18 months from today...sounds racist if you ask me," a fan tweeted.
Another fan stated that a file and rank union was prudent for players and voiced for the Novak Djokovic-led initiative consideration.
"ATP + WTA players need more than a player's council. They need a rank and file union. For whatever the reasons, they haven't gotten behind the Novak led initiative but decisions like this should make progress to a union mandatory for touring professionals," a user wrote.
One fan acknowledged the importance of such set procedures but disfavored its time-consuming nature, which was unaffordable for tennis professionals.
"Of course, everyone can believe anything. Something is pretty clear: All this doping control is really important, but the procedures seem to be quite messy. Following Halep's case, they seem to be far too slow... and an athlete can't afford that," another tweet read.
Here are some more reactions by tennis fans:
Mikael Ymer last performed at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
Before his suspension, which begins immediately, Mikael Ymer played at the recently concluded 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
The 24-year-old achieved his career-best performance at the grasscourt Major as he reached the event's third round, where he lost to Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan in a five-set match, 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1. However, before losing to Galan, the Swede triumphed over No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz in the second round.
Mikael Ymer was scheduled to face Juan Pablo Varillas in the opening round of the Gstaad Open in Switzerland on Tuesday, July 18, before he was forced to withdraw due to the suspension.
