👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

On tap today, we’ve got a slightly altered Daily Theory thanks to the power outage in Madrid that left us with not much play yesterday and a still-developing schedule of play today. 😬

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 Power restored: The Madrid Open resumed play on Tuesday after a massive power outage struck Spain, Portugal, and parts of France on Monday. It was a chaotic day for the capital city, leaving players to find their own way back to their hotels, with many of them choosing to walk as much as 90 minutes with their equipment on their backs.

  • Update: While most of the country was without electricity for about 10 hours, Caja Mágica, the facility where the Madrid Open is played, took a bit longer for power to be restored, and play was delayed by an hour.

🎾 Maxed out: Two-time major doubles champ Max Purcell has accepted an 18-month ban for a Tennis Anti-Doping Program rules breach. According to the ITIA, the Australian did not take a banned substance. Instead, he received two intravenous infusions of over 500ml, breaking the allowable limit of 100ml within any given 12-hour period. At the time of the provisional suspension in December, Purcell insisted he had taken vitamin infusions to replenish and that the clinic gave him a larger infusion than he requested.

  • Raising an eyebrow: The ITIA’s decision said Purcell asked the clinic staff not to keep receipts relating to his infusion. The investigation also found messages between Purcell and another player in which Purcell “discussed ways in which he could justify receiving infusions, including feigning illness.” None of that sounds like something on the up-and-up.
  • What he said: “This case has been going on for months, seriously affecting my quality of life,” Purcell posted on Instagram. “From being unable to eat and sleep properly, to refusing to be by myself, to developing nervous and anxious tics which I still currently battle day to day...I’m so glad this is finally over for me and I can move on with my life.”
  • What they said: “This case does not involve a player testing positive for a prohibited substance but demonstrates that the anti-doping rules are broader than that,” ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said. “It also shows that the ITIA considers intelligence from a range of sources with the overriding aim to protect everyone covered by the tennis anti-doping rules, and ensure a level playing field for all.”

🎾 Joining forces: The United States Tennis Association and the American Tennis Association have announced a joint initiative focusing on greater diversity in the sport. The collaboration is meant to bring more Black tennis professionals to the fore through a mentorship program. The program falls on the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson becoming the first Black player to play in the U.S. Championships and the 50th anniversary of Arthur Ashe winning Wimbledon.

  • What they said: “We are proud to formalize our relationship with the ATA, which has a rich and storied history of breaking down barriers and transforming tennis into a sport that is more diverse and inclusive,” the USTA’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Marisa Grimes, said in a statement.