Greg Rusedski has been cleared of a doping offence despite testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone last July.
A three-man panel appointed by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said in a statement today that the Canadian-born 30-year-old had been cleared after a closed-door hearing in Montreal last month.
The tribunal ruled that the ATP had created the underlying situation in the first place "by distributing tablets that, on the best available scientific evidence, appeared to have been contaminated by prohibited substances".
Rusedski, who had faced a two-year ban, which would have effectively ended his career, admitted in January that he had tested positive during the RCA championships in Indianapolis last July.
He based his defence on the fact that seven other male players were exonerated last year after an independent inquiry ruled that they had taken contaminated supplements handed out by ATP trainers.
The ATP accepted last year that it may have unwittingly fed its players banned performance-enhancing substances but said it had stopped handing out the supplements in May, 2003.
Rusedski said in a statement that the judgment had come as a huge relief. "Late yesterday I was informed by the Tribunal that I had been found not guilty of a doping offence," the player, once ranked as high as number four in the world, said.
"The verdict was clear and unequivocal. This is an enormous relief to me and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wife Lucy, my family...and all my friends for standing by me and believing in my innocence.
"Their constant love, support and loyalty gave me the strength to get through this ordeal. I have also been tremendously encouraged by the overwhelmingly favourable reaction of the general public.
"To be allowed to carry on playing competitive tennis and to clear my name has been my priority throughout and now I am looking forward to resuming my career."
The player, a runner-up at the US Open in 1997, said he will give a full response next Tuesday when he has returned from holiday to London.
The ATP says it will now expand its investigation into the rash of positive tests for nandrolone.
Filed by James Boylan
