British tennis ace Dan Evans banned for year after testing positive for cocaine
Birmingham-born tennis player tested positive for cocaine in April after was initially facing a two-year ban
BRITISH tennis player Dan Evans has been banned from the sport for a year.
The 27-year-old from Birmingham tested positive for cocaine after providing a urine sample in April.
The suspension back-dates to the beginning of the date he tested positive and can return to action from 24 April 2018.
Evans was quick to issue a statement after being rumbled and admitted: "I made a mistake and I must face up to it."
He was a British No3 and world No50 tennis player when he failed the test at the Barcelona Open.
A statement posted by the International Tennis Federation read: "A decision has been issued under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme that Daniel Evans has committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme.
"It was agreed that a period of one year's ineligibility should be imposed, commencing on 24 April 2017"
Evans claimed the drug was taken out of competition and was completely unrelated to tennis.
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And he can count himself lucky just to receive a one-year ban.
Martina Hingis received two years for a similar offence in 2007 when she failed a drugs test at Wimbledon.
The ITF also announced a two-year ban for Dimitar Kutrovsky who tested positive to drugs in November 2015.