Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has confirmed he will appeal a two-week suspension and $30,000 fine after being found guilty of pushing a 60-year-old anti-doping volunteer during last year’s Davis Cup. The ban stems from an incident on 23 November 2024, when Australia lost to Italy in the Davis Cup semi-final in Malaga, Spain.\Hewitt was accused of pushing a 60-year-old volunteer anti-doping chaperone after the match, behaviour that was deemed to constitute “offensive conduct towards a doping control official” under Article 7.15.1.1 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP), as enforced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The penalty, announced earlier this month, has been suspended until 24 September and will run through to 7 October. That delay ensures Australia’s Davis Cup preparations against Belgium this weekend are not disrupted and gives Hewitt time to mount an appeal.”I’m just really disappointed about the overall decision but also the whole process and the lack of facts that have been put out,” Hewitt said on Thursday. “I’ll be going through the appeal process with my legal team right now, so I won’t be talking about it any further.”.
