British players have reacted to Dan Evans testing positive for cocaine, saying that it showed a huge error in judgment.
"I haven't spoken to him,” British No. 2 Kyle Edmund said. “I don't think anyone has spoken to him, to be honest. I haven't seen him. First of all, he's obviously not around at the tournaments.
"The only way I could have spoken to him is maybe sent him a text, but I haven't sent him a text just because—yeah, I don't really know what to say."
Evans has said he did not take the banned substance during competition, and that it was "in a context" not in connection with tennis. But the substance stays in an athlete's system following use, and the International Tennis Federation has announced that the positive came in a sample taken during competition in Barcelona.
Edmund would not comment extensively on what Evans had done.
"It's just a bit of a downer to see, sort of, news like that," he said. "It is his decision. It's his career, it's not my career. I don't need to even say what's happened."
Evans has had a reputation for unprofessional behavior during his career, but had recently broken into the Top 50 and appeared to be playing the best tennis of his career.
"He's a funny guy and he's easy to get along with,” Edmund added. “He just has another side to him that he really just likes to enjoy himself. He's just taken it too far this time.”
Evans could now get a lengthy ban.
Britain's Liam Broady, who described Evans as a friend, was sympathetic.
"I know Dan can only blame himself, but I think Dan can often portray that he doesn't care about a lot of things,” Broady toldBBC. “But no one loves tennis more than Evo does, and this will hurt him. I hope he's OK, to be honest."
In general, former players and commentators have been more critical than current pros.
"It's a shame,” Marcus Willis said. “He's a cracking tennis player and nobody really knows what happened. He had a moment where he was stupid and it's cost him a little bit, but I’ve [got] no doubt he'll be back up there after his ban."
Evans' clothing sponsor, Ellesse, also announced it was dropping the 27-year-old. It had signed Evans following his fourth-round run to the Australian Open, when he was buying his own shirts because his previous sponsorship deal had stopped in 2016. The company said in a statement that Evans "showed great promise on the court,” but it "could not condone the lifestyle choices" he had made.
Evans has been provisionally suspended pending a hearing.
