Austrian darts player Rusty-Jake Rodriguez has been hit with a provisional ban after a drugs test revealed abnormal results.
The 24-year-old, who sits at 138th in the world rankings, was randomly tested during the Players Championship 24 back in August.
The Darts Regulation Authority moved quickly to ban Rodriguez from playing in or attending any events, while they have opened an investigation.
Rodriguez was tested on August 25 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, where he had just lost 6-3 to Steve Lennon in the first round.
Austrian darts player Rusty-Jake Rodriguez has been hit with a provisional suspension after abnormal results from a drugs test
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Swedish player Jeffrey de Graaf went on to secure his maiden PDC ranking title at the event, beating Stephen Bunting 8-7 in the final.
The suspension means Rodriguez can't compete or even attend DRA-governed events until the investigation has concluded.
Rodriguez will be able to appeal the suspension and challenge whether the test was valid in the first place.
However, the DRA won't release any further details while they're still investigating.
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Rusty-Jake Rodriguez performed the test during the Players Championship 24 in August
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The Austrian was back in action just a day after the failed test at Players Championship 25, where he lost 6-3 to Alan Soutar in the first round.
Stephen Bunting avenged his final loss earlier that week by beating Jonny Clayton in the final to claim his fifth title of the year.
Rodriguez comes from a prestigious darts pedigree.
His older brother Rowby-John has made it to the second round at Ally Pally twice, though he lost 3-0 to Luke Humphries in 2022.
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Their other sibling, Roxy-James, played on the PDC tour from 2014 to 2018 before switching to the WDF.
RJR3 made quite an impression on his World Championship debut in 2022.
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Rusty-Jake Rodriguez pushed world No8 Chris Dobey all the way to a deciding set during his World Championships debut in 2022
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He pushed Chris Dobey all the way to a deciding fifth set in round two before losing 3-2. He was back at Ally Pally in 2024 but couldn't repeat that performance, losing 3-0 to Cameron Menzies in the opening round.
Rodriguez got his Tour Card back at European Qualifying School in January, but it's been a tough year. He's earned just £7,500 in ranking prize money and crashed out in the first round at 18 of his 24 Players Championship appearances this season.
The Austrian isn't the first darts player to face this situation recently.
Dom Taylor got a one-month ban after testing positive for a banned substance at a Players Championship event in November 2024.
Taylor was originally looking at two years out of the sport, but proved the substances weren't performance-enhancing and were taken outside competition.
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