Former Australian No.1 and top 40 star Marinko Matosevic handed four year ban for doping violations

Former Australian No.1 and top 40 player Marinko Matosevic has become one of the most high profile doping cases in some time although his career is over and has been for nearly a decade anyway.

Matosevic who is now 40 has been handed a four-year ban by the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) for doping violations. He turned pro in 2003 but nine years later he produced the best tennis of his career. He was named as the ATP's most improved player in 2012, became Australian No.1 in a time before Nick Kyrgios's ascendance and post Lleyton Hewitt's dominance.

He became World No.39 but he soon retired from playing in 2018 to focus on coaching but an independent tribunal has determined that Matosevic committed five anti-doping rule violations between 2018 and 2020.

These violations include the use of a prohibited method through blood doping while he was an active player, facilitating another player to blood dope and providing advice to players on how to get away with positive tests. He denied all charges throughout the process but admitted to one blood doping charge on social media not long before his hearing. The tribunal chair Michael Heron KC said his actions "went far beyond passive association and constitute intentional participation."

He was charged in May 2025 with the investigation starting all the way back in 2024. With him denying said charge, it was referred to a tribunal recently with the charges upheld in March 2026 with only one charge being dismissed. His results and prize money from two events have been disqualified from his last year on tour in 2018 and it will end on March 15, 2030 subject to him paying back the money.

But while he has long been retired, it also prohibits him from coaching which is what he got into post tennis and he can't attend any tennis events until the next decade. These include ATP, ITF, WTA and Grand Slam events and he precursored this charge with a statement on social media where he hit out at the ITIA for their handling of it all.

"I am writing this confession letter firstly to warn other athletes against doing anything that may harm their health and put their lives at risk," Matosevic said in a statement. "Because there is a long life after an athlete's career. Secondly, I am writing this letter to let the tennis world know how corrupt and unjust the ITIA process is.

"They take your phone number under threatening circumstances and make legal cases over photos and text message assumptions that are literally five years old. The whole process is corrupt and lacks credibility, as we have seen over the last few years!"