Mikael Ymer announces retirement from tennis following drug-test “no show” suspension

In a sign of anger and frustration, Sweden’s Mikael Ymer has announced his immediate retirement from professional tennis.

At only 24 years old, Mikael Ymer posted this Friday, on his “X” account signaling his immediate retirement, while he is currently serving an 18-month suspension for a triple violation of the daily whereabouts rules, as part of anti-doping regulations on the ATP Tour.

“Hi everyone, I have decided to retire from professional tennis. Thank you all for these incredible memories. What a trip it will have been! I wish my colleagues the best for their next competitions,” wrote Mikael Ymer, the world No 80.

Understanding Ymer’s anti-doping suspension

In January 2022, the finalist for the 2021 Winston-Salem tournament received an 18-month suspension for a triple “no show” found in April, August and November 2021.

Ymer was cleared by an independent tribunal in June 2022, then suspended again this summer by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, appealed by the International Federation, which had requested a two-year suspension.

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The player has acknowledged the first two “no shows” observed against him but disputes the relevance of the third, which occurred at the end of 2021 as part of the Roanne Challenger. According to Ymer, he had been accommodated in a different hotel from the one initially reserved by his agent, without having been notified by email.

Ymer had therefore not changed the address of his mandatory daily location. As it so happened, this change fell on the day when the controllers came to test him, creating a violation of the anti-doping rules.

A frustrated Ymer gives up

“It all looks like a bad dream,” Ymer wrote at the end of July, a few weeks after losing in five sets in the third round of Wimbledon against Daniel Elahi Galan, in what could now be his last ever tournament.

“I do not think justice has been done, neither in the decision itself, nor in the sanction, which seems completely disproportionate.

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“An 18-month suspension is de facto equivalent to a three-year absence, because it will take huge amount of time and energy to come back. I’m going to start from scratch, and there’s no guarantee I’ll make it.”

Mikael Ymer finally chose not to try to continue his tennis career—but that’s not to say that once the dust settles on this, the 24-year-old won’t reconsider his decision.