Indian Tennis Player Parikshit Somani Receives Four-Year Doping Ban

Parikshit Somani Faces Four-Year Suspension

On Wednesday, Indian tennis athlete Parikshit Somani was handed a four-year suspension due to a doping violation after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.

The 26-year-old, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 256 in doubles, was found to have the prohibited substance in his system during an ATP Challenger event held in Astana, Kazakhstan, last year.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that an independent tribunal has enforced a four-year ban on Somani in accordance with tennis' anti-doping regulations.

Somani has been under provisional suspension since September 23, 2025, and the tribunal's ruling extends his ban until September 2029.

While provisionally suspended in late 2025, Somani sought assistance from the ITIA’s player support program to explore various potential sources of contamination. However, tests conducted at a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited lab in Salt Lake City, USA, returned negative results for trimetazidine.

In February 2026, Somani claimed that he had ingested food prepared by a family member, which he alleged was contaminated with the family member's medication during preparation.

This claim formed the basis of his defense during a hearing before an independent tribunal on August 19, 2026. After reviewing expert scientific opinions from both Somani and the ITIA, the tribunal deemed the food contamination theory to be 'scientifically implausible,' 'highly speculative,' and 'unconvincing.'

Ultimately, the tribunal concluded that Somani failed to prove the origin of the banned substance in his sample, resulting in no mitigating circumstances being recognized. Consequently, the tribunal imposed a four-year suspension in line with anti-doping regulations.