Four-year ban imposed on Kazakh tennis player
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Kazakhstan’s 21-year-old tennis player Arslanbek Aitkulov has been suspended for four years for violating the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP), Kazinform News Agency reports.
The ITIA noted that during the ITF World Tennis Tour in Doha, Qatar, in January 2024, Aitkulov tested positive for two banned substances — ligandrol and methylhexanamine. Ligandrol is classified as an anabolic agent, while methylhexanamine is a stimulant listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Aitkulov failed to provide evidence that the substances entered his body unintentionally. An independent tribunal found him guilty of violating anti-doping rules and imposed a four-year suspension.
Under the decision, all results, ranking points, and prize money Aitkulov earned after testing positively for substances were annulled. His provisional suspension, in effect since March 23, 2024, was credited toward the ban, making him eligible to return to competition starting March 22, 2028.
Until then, Aitkulov is banned from participating in competitions, training, or attending events organized or sanctioned by ATP, ITF, WTA, or national tennis federations.
The player’s highest singles ranking was recorded in November 2023, when he reached No. 1250 in the world.
As reported earlier, Timofey Skatov has won the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi in Italy.