CALL FOR CONSISTENCY IN TENNIS ANTI-DOPING RULINGS

Doping continues to be the scourge of many sports, including professional tennis, and the need to eradicate it in all its forms continues apace.

Three doping cases in tennis have recently been reported, with seemingly inconsistent approaches and outcomes. These have been compared and criticised by Simona Halep, the Romanian two-times Grand Slam Champion, as she feels that she has been harshly and unfairly treated. We would agree with her that there is a need for consistency in doping control by sports bodies and any inconsistencies, wherever and whenever found, are rooted out!

These doping cases, the subject of criticism, are her own; the one of Iga Swiatek, the Polish five-times Grand Slam Champion; and the one of Jannik Sinner, the Italian men’s world number one player.

In the case of Halep, she was out of action for more than 18 months, after testing positive for the banned substance roxadustat, an anti-anaemia drug. She was banned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for four years, which was reduced on 5 March 2024 to nine months, following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In the case of Swiatek, she accepted a one-month suspension on 28 November 2024, after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, a heart medication. The ITIA accepted that her anti-doping rule violation was the result of contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin, which is manufactured and sold in Poland, which she took for jet lag and sleep problems.

In the case of Sinner, who twice tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol, a steroid that can be used for building muscle mass, the ITIA accepted that there was “no fault or negligence” on his part. However, this decision has been appealed by WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, to CAS.

Halep’s criticisms of the approaches of the ITIA in these anti-doping cases, have been answered by a spokesman of the ITIA, who has stated that there were “very important differences” between her case and that of Swiatek, in which the contaminated product “was a regulated medication and not a supplement,” And added:

“No two cases are the same, they often involve different circumstances, and direct comparisons are not always helpful.

We deal with each case based on the facts and evidence, not a player’s name, ranking or nationality. When a prohibited substance is found in a player’s system, we investigate it thoroughly.

We urge players to exercise extreme caution when taking supplements and we are always happy to answer any questions they have.”

This is good advice which we would also urge all our sports clients to follow.

For more information and professional advice on anti-doping legal issues, please email Dr Lucien Valloni at ‘valloni@valloni.ch’.