Purcell ban shows how much grey exists between the black and white of tennis

Tennis players can no longer have faith in the systems that are meant to protect them – that much is clear after Australian tennis player Max Purcell was given an 18-month ban for an over-the-limit intravenous infusion.

Players want a fair sport, they want an equal sport, but when Jannik Sinner receives a three-month ban for having a prohibited substance in his system, and Max is banned for six times that length, it’s hard not to believe the system has failed its players.

Australian tennis player Max Purcell. Credit: Getty Images

I was one of Jannik’s biggest and most vocal supporters, and I still am. I believe that doping incidents need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis, and I agreed with WADA’s ruling that the tiny amount in Jannik’s system was neither performance-enhancing nor intentional.

But I have to stick up for Max. It’s hard not to think there has been some kind of preferential treatment for someone like Jannik or Iga Swiatek – another former world No. 1 player – who have comparatively gotten off lightly for having banned substances in their systems.

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