‘It is a joke’: Thompson hits out at doubles partner Purcell’s provisional doping ban

Jordan Thompson has revealed how his Australian Open title pact with Max Purcell was crushed when his doubles partner copped a provisional suspension for unwittingly breaching the sport’s anti-doping rules.

Dual grand slam doubles champion Purcell started his provisional suspension on December 12, after admitting to what the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) anti-doping program defines as a “prohibited method”.

Australia’s Jordan Thompson.Credit: Getty Images

A devastated Purcell, 26, wrote last week on his personal Instagram page that he had “unknowingly” received an intravenous infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100ml, despite warning the medical clinic he was at that he was a professional athlete.

He will miss the Australian summer and potentially beyond, but Thompson said their hope was Purcell – who is back in Australia after a stint at his Georgian base – would discover his fate soon and receive only “a slap on the wrist”.

They would have been leading contenders to win the doubles title at the Australian Open next month after winning this year’s US Open together and reaching the Wimbledon final.

“After we won the US Open [in September], we were like, ‘Yeah, let’s go for our home slam now’. It’s not going to happen – it’s a stitch-up,” Thompson said.

“I mean, the guy took too much saltwater in an IV bag in Bali. He was unwell. That’s why he went to the hospital.

“I have no good words for it. It is a joke. Guys are testing positive [for] performance-enhancers, [whereas] he’s gone out and taken too much saltwater, [and] they’ve suspended him. Take of that what you will.

“Anyone looking at it goes, ‘It’s so unfair’. I don’t know what is going to happen to him. I’ve definitely got my strong thoughts on it.”

Thompson is playing doubles in Brisbane with countryman Chris O’Connell – who shares the same coach, Marinko Matosevic – but remains disappointed with Purcell’s plight.

Max Purcell (left) and Jordan Thompson won this year’s US Open doubles title.Credit: AP

“I was shattered [when I found out]. I was shattered for him. We wanted to win the Australian Open,” Thompson said.

“Our last two grand slams was a final with match points [at Wimbledon], then [we] go back to the next grand slam and we win it. Our goal was automatically, apart from Turin, to get to Australian Open and to win it. We would have been a high seed.

“I guess anti-doping [staff] has other ideas.”

Purcell has not spoken publicly outside his social media statement, but believed he had followed protocols until he saw his medical records.

“I have voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension since I unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100ml,” Purcell said in the statement.

“Until last week, when I received medical records from a clinic showing that the amount of an IV I had received was above 100ml, I was fully convinced that I had done everything to ensure that I had followed the WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) regulations and methods. But the records show that the IV was over that 100ml limit, even though I told the clinic that I was a professional athlete and needed the IV to be below 100ml.

“This news was devastating to me because I pride myself on being an athlete who always makes sure everything is WADA safe.”

Tennis has had a challenging year on the anti-doping front, with grand slam champions Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both testing positive to separate banned substances.

They each appealed within 10 days of finding out about their positive tests, meaning their cases were not made public until they were finalised, as per ITIA regulations.

Sinner avoided any ban after the ITIA accepted his explanation, but WADA has since appealed that decision. Swiatek – who missed three tournaments while the process was ongoing – received a one-month suspension after the ITIA accepted her defence that the extremely low traces of trimetazidine found in her system owed to contamination of her Melatonin medication, which she takes to ward off jet lag.

Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios’ comeback match will be against big-serving French up-and-comer Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard in the first round at the Brisbane International.

Knee and wrist injuries meant Kyrgios played only one match in the past two years, but he is fit again and on track to compete at the Australian Open with a protected ranking of No.21.

Another Australian, Rinky Hijikata, drew No.1 seed and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic in his opener, while Adam Walton takes on No.4 seed Frances Tiafoe. Australia’s seventh seed Alexei Popyrin starts against Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

Thompson, the No.8 seed, also received a tricky draw against Italy’s former world No.6 Matteo Berrettini, who made the Wimbledon final in 2021 and has made at least the quarter-finals at every grand slam.

“It’s a tough one,” Thompson said of Berrettini.

“He’s been playing great tennis. He broke our hearts in Davis Cup against Thanasi [Kokkinakis], and he’s got a big game, Wimbledon finalist and US Open semi-finalist.

“It’s tough get rhythm with how big he plays, but when you play tennis, you’ve got to beat whoever is in front of you in a tournament, anyway, or even just to win matches, so it doesn’t matter who you go up against.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.