Australia’s Max Purcell straight back in Davis Cup fold after 18-month anti-doping ban

Max Purcell, the grand slam doubles champion left shattered when having to serve a ban for an anti-doping breach, is back in the Australian tennis fold, selected as part of Lleyton Hewitt’s Davis Cup team to face Poland.

The 28-year-old Purcell, who received widespread sympathy throughout tennis from those who felt the 18-month ban was unfair and smacked of double standards, could play his first Davis Cup rubber for two years next week.

Australia must beat Poland in their World Group 1 tie at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena on 19-20 September if Hewitt’s men are to have a chance of shooting for next year’s trophy.

The captain has selected a squad headed by Alex de Minaur, who’s hoping to bounce back from an underwhelming US Open campaign, and featuring James Duckworth, Rinky Hijikata and Adam Walton, who’s in line for a possible debut.

But the most striking selection is that of world No 803 Purcell, the 2022 Wimbledon and 2024 US Open men’s doubles champion who’s been making his comeback quietly and impressively since his return in June following the interruption to what had been a burgeoning career.

In December 2024, Purcell elected to take a provisional suspension under the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, saying he had unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowed limit of 100ml a year earlier.

He explained he had fallen ill while on holiday in Bali but had unknowingly been administered an amount over the legal threshold by a doctor there. The vitamins were all on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s approved list.

His two-year sanction was reduced by 25% due to his cooperation and substantial assistance he provided to the ITIA.

But Purcell made it clear how much the episode had taken a toll on him as he revealed in a social media post how he’d developed “nervous and anxious tics” and couldn’t eat properly as the case “seriously affected” his quality of life.

Colleagues like John Millman and Jordan Thompson, his US Open-winning doubles partner, rallied to support him, pointing out how his anti-doping breach had clearly been unintentional and that he had no prohibited substance in his body.

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Purcell has now been offered another public show of support by team bosses as he’s been brought back into the squad at the first opportunity following his comeback, which has already featured a singles triumph in a low-key tournament in China.

Boasting an impressive 9-2 record in Davis Cup doubles rubbers, he is potentially a huge asset for Hewitt in a difficult tie.

Poland will be led by the impressive Kamil Majchrzak, the world No 73 who’s already beaten de Minaur this year in the grass-court ATP final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Yet the Poles’ injury-prone No 1 Hubert Hurkacz was not listed in their team on Wednesday, and his absence should make the Australians’ task more comfortable.