We’ve all heard about the controversy surrounding the recent doping cases of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek. Here are my own thoughts and experiences regarding doping in tennis.
Simply put, if I got caught for doping in the same way Jannik or Iga did, my tennis career would be over.
I wouldn’t have the arsenal of lawyers, lobbyists, and physios fighting on my behalf to prove my positive doping test was only accidental. At almost 28 years old and with a ranking of 230 WTA, I would be finished. And I am not the only one on tour that shares this sentiment. Everyone outside the top 100 and over the age of 25 (generalising here!!) would have a very hard time getting out of it and returning from that.
Many players have been caught doping after playing in tournaments in Latin and South America. The red meat in the players’ restaurants is often contaminated! Luckily, it is known that sometimes tournaments send out preemptive precautionary emails about the possibility of meat contamination before the tournaments even start. But if it wasn’t known, and it was just one person who ate a lousy piece of meat by accident, he or she would have a hard time fighting a ban.
Will vitamin C pills make me fail a doping test?
I don’t eat meat at all, so I’m in the clear on that front, but I am always so scared of accidentally ingesting something I shouldn’t. When I got the flu in Melbourne, my coach and I were freaking out about buying VITAMINS at the grocery store. Imagine being nervous about buying vitamins! Instead, we settled on ginger and lemon teas and doctor-prescribed antibiotics. That way, if I get caught with any illegal substance, I can prove that it was given to me by a real-life doctor who deemed it necessary for my health. But no vitamins or over-the-counter flu medication for me – just in case.
I get nervous if I order a protein smoothie from a shop. What if they put in some weird, doped-up protein powder that’s fine for regular people but is banned by WADA or the ITIA? I don’t know; I’m not a doctor!
Maybe that’s paranoid …yes, it is; who am I kidding … But it’s the precautions I must take. I don’t have a designated team checking all of these things for me. All I have is my best judgment. I’m just constantly hoping that everything is okay and that a tiny error like this won’t end my career too early. And I know that most players share my fears.
One player got caught for doping in the same way as Jannik Sinner did. However, this player doping was from a tournament-appointed physio at a Tunisian ITF $15k. The player unknowingly received treatment with cream with steroids and received a minimum ban of six months.
These stories beg the question: was the system wrong before, and is it now being corrected? Will even 15k players in Tunisia receive the same benefit of the doubt as Sinner? Or is there blatant preferential treatment happening towards more privileged players? No agency should be allowed to cherry-pick who to punish or not.
The drug testing process on the ITF tour
On the ITF tour, we get tested semi-regularly – a couple of times per year. On the WTA tour and for players in the top 100, I know they must submit a daily itinerary and stick to it so the doping control can test them whenever they want. That is another tedious extra layer of work these players have to do.
People do get caught on the ITF tour as well. Most recently, a young Czech player got caught using performance-enhancing substances and got banned for a few months. They’re returning to the tour now. Luckily, she is young and has time to come back. I don’t know whether it was an accident or not.
Post-match doping control
A quick recap of the process of a post-match doping test:
I am so terrible at peeing on command – and when someone is watching me do it in a tiny bathroom stall – and especially after a match. Have you ever tried to pee right after you’ve played tennis for 2 hours? It is IMPOSSIBLE!!
The doping people at the tournament pick you up right as you are walking off the court. Then you tell them umm…. no, I do not need to pee. “Okay, fine, but you have one hour before coming with us.” Then, they will closely follow you while you cool down, stretch, and chug copious amounts of water and Gatorade to ‘get the fluids going.’
Once your hour is up, they say you must go to the designated doping area and at least try to pee. I go: I try: I can’t do it: I sit down and grab another water bottle.
We repeat this process until the pee comes, and the lady watches it drip into the little cup while making frivolous small talk and avoiding eye contact. Then, I spend the rest of the evening going to the bathroom every five minutes because of the ridiculous amount of water I just drank.
FUN!
The repercussions
Imagine this process occurring right after I finish a three-set match in the evening, and I have to play again at 10 a.m. Doping tests are random. Maybe my next opponent doesn’t have one, so she rests at the hotel while I spend the rest of the day fighting with my bladder.
What if I needed to see the physio, but he left the site while I was waiting at the doping control? Due to this doping process, players might become more susceptible to injury because of a lack of nutrition, proper stretching, and recovery time. This might seem like a minor issue to the public, but for us players, it can make or break a tournament. I am just highlighting even the minor flaws in an already problematic system.
Tennis doping tests: Is there a better way?
I have no idea. I am no expert and will not begin to pretend to understand WADA’s inner workings. I am not sure how to improve this entire system, which is flawed yet still attempting to maintain the integrity of clean sport. It inherently favours more privileged players and creates accidental and unfair advantages.
However, some people do take banned substances and deservedly should get punished.
My main point is that my tennis career and that of hundreds of other players’ would be over if we got caught in the same way Jannik or Iga did. We do not think that kind of system is fair or on our side.