(Reuters) – Briton Dan Evans has been banned for one year after testing positive for cocaine, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Tuesday.
Evans, 27, failed a doping test at the Barcelona Open this year and his ban has been back-dated to when the sample was collected on April 24.
“The ITF accepted Mr. Evans’ account of how the cocaine got into his system and that he bears No Significant Fault or Negligence for the violation,” the governing body said in a statement on its website. (www.itftennis.com)
Evans, who was ranked 50th in the world in June when he admitted failing a doping test, reached his first ATP Tour final this year in Sydney and has played for Britain in the Davis Cup.
(Writing by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
