Ymer is suspended because he missed three doping tests in 2021. Which is a violation of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) anti-doping rules.
— He knows what happens if he doesn’t stick to the regulations. It’s important to have a good team behind you as well who keeps track of all these things. But then it’s really only him who can answer why it turned out this way, says the former world number four Jonas Björkman to TT.
— It is very unfortunate. At that age, you have to play as much as possible to develop.
“The only positive”
Ymer is said to have appealed the verdict and won in June 2022. But the ITF appealed the verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), which now bans Ymer, 51st in the world ranking, for 18 months.
— It’s super tough to come back from. The only positive thing, if you can say that, is really that if you get injured and are out for about the same amount of time, you have to heal, rehab and all that sort of thing. It is even more difficult, says Björkman.
The former world champion Magnus Gustafsson is on a similar line to Björkman.
— It is clear that there are consequences. It will be a year and a half without a competitor. He can of course train as much as he wants. But I myself was away for a few years due to injury, then you have to set other goals. You can always compete against yourself and play training matches, he says.
Cas’ decision to suspend Ymer can be appealed in a Swiss court. If this is not done, or if the appeal is rejected, the Swede will not be allowed to compete before 2025.
“Will Take Time”
According to Gustafsson, a trip back to the top of the world is not impossible for Ymer.
— He is such a good tennis player, Mikael. I think he still hasn’t reached his full potential. I think he has the potential to be in the top 20 in the world. Then he has to start over from square zero. It will take time before he has worked his way up to the ranking he has today, says Gustafsson.
Ymer’s third violation was before a competition in France when Ymer stayed in a different hotel than what he first stated.
— I see it as carelessness and disrespect. Failing to report your whereabouts to the doping controllers – that should not happen in and of itself, but it can happen at some point. If you have two points in one year, you should not be able to get a third point, says Gustafsson.