Nielsen ponders drugs ban appeal

New Zealand’s top tennis player, banned over a substance found in his hair-loss product, is considering appealing his two-year suspension. 

Mark Nielsen accepts a “foolish oversight” but said yesterday the severity of the fine handed down by the International Tennis Federation was out of proportion to the offence. 

The 28-year-old was hit with the two-year ban on Monday after an independent tribunal found he had committed a doping offence under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme. 

Nielsen, ranked 413 in the world, tested positive for the banned steroid-masking agent finasteride at the Australian Open in January. 

The player has three weeks to appeal. 

His case mirrors that of American Zach Lund, who was kicked out of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February for taking the same substance. Lund’s ban was set at one year by CAS.