Tennis star faces ban after positive cocaine test
THE British No 3 Dan Evans stunned the world of tennis yesterday when he admitted that he has tested positive for cocaine.
Evans made his confession in a west London hotel and will now face a lengthy ban, perhaps in line with the two years that the former Wimbledon champion Martina Hingis spent off the tour after her own cocaine scandal in 2007. He has been described as the “bad boy of British tennis”, but his previous transgressions – which included partying into the small hours on the eve of a junior doubles match at Wimbledon – now seem trivial by comparison with this potentially career-ending offence.
Evans, who is 27 and stands at No50 in the world rankings, will begin a provisional ban on Monday and then face an International Tennis Foundation hearing to determine the length of his ban. He said: “I have let a lot of people down – my family, my coach, my team, sponsors, British tennis and my fans. I can only deeply apologise from the bottom of my heart.”