A former top 10 junior player has been banned from tennis after testing positive for cocaine during the Australian Open Wild Card playoffs last December.
Omar Jasika has been issued with a two-year suspension by his national anti-doping agency earlier this week. He has not played on the tour since March due to an investigation that was launched by the Australian Anti-Doping Agency. A motion that was not known to the public or many within the tennis circuit. At the start of the year Jasika played seven matches on the professional tour, reaching the quarter-finals of the Playford Challenger in January.
There has been no formal statement issued by the Australian Anti-doping agency or Jasika concerning the suspension. Although it has been confirmed by the International Tennis Federation, who has added him to their list of suspended players. News publication The Australian has reported that Jasika is ‘devastated’ to be in the circumstances that he is currently in.
Jasika was a former world No.6 on the junior on tour. In 2014 he achieved a double triumph at the US Open by winning the boys singles and doubles title. Despite his success at a young age, Jasika is yet to achieve a successful transition into the professional tour. Peaking at a ranking high of 239th in 2017. His biggest success to date was at the 2017 Burnie International, where he won his first and so far only grand slam title. He has also won two Futures titles.
It is not the first time a tennis player has been penalised over a positive test for Cocaine. Great Britain’s Dan Evans was banned for one year after testing positive for the drug during the 2017 Barcelona Open.
Jasika is eligible to return back in tennis in March 2020. He is currently ranked 527nd in the world.
