Doping in Tennis

[BluDiamond]

I realise this could be a controversial thread so hopefully it doesn't get out of hand.

What are everyone's opinions as to whether many tennis players have used performance enhancing drugs? I feel that tennis is generally clean but from what I gather, the testing regime in tennis isn't very sophisticated compared to other sports.

I'm tempted to say that players lower down in the rankings (400 in the world or lower perhaps) are prime candidates, as they are younger, perhaps more naive and will often do anything to get their big break and into the big money events.

As a sidenote, what about Djokovic's oxygen pod? Surely that gives the same effect as blood doping (I don't know whether he still uses it).

 

[Doubles]

If they did, big deal? Seriously, it doesn't effect you personally, so why act like it does?

 

[BluDiamond]

If they did, big deal? Seriously, it doesn't effect you personally, so why act like it does?

*affect

I'm not acting like it does...just gauging opinion. A friend of mine that competes regularly suggested it's pretty common so thought it was worth a post.

 

[Sentinel]

Never given this a thought. I've often suspected ******* of Rope-a-doping, if that's what you mean, so maybe the answer is yes.

 

[ctoth666]

If they did, big deal? Seriously, it doesn't effect you personally, so why act like it does?

Thank you for injecting some common sense into the doping debate. This pretty much sums up how I feel about the issue.

You heard it here first: I don't support any testing. I don't care if athletes dope. It does not change how I feel about myself or how I feel about the athletes.

 

[raging]

*affect

I'm not acting like it does...just gauging opinion. A friend of mine that competes regularly suggested it's pretty common so thought it was worth a post.

Your friend is not a good source!
see, you got your controversial thread

But seriously why not do some research?: google Richard Ings.
He answers questions in an internet forum on doping in tennis.
As background Richard was at the ATP for many years in charge Of Drug Testing and Corruption.
He was later Head of the Australian body for Drug Testing in Sport.

In this forum he explains how expensive blood testing is, how difficult it is for the ATP or any Sports Body such as the ITF to enforce Drug Testing & also the difficulty of even charging players with drug abuse.

All you will probably get are posters like Senti who just want to name players to initiate flame wars.

Or you will get posters like the above who just don't care about the doping debate & just want to tell you that too!

You asked for opinions but be careful what you wish for.

Sorry you asked?

 

[CocaCola]

Male tennis top players are not using any illegal substances. There's my opinion.

 

[Relinquis]

If they did, big deal? Seriously, it doesn't effect you personally, so why act like it does?

i don't know about that. it think it does matter. a lot of us love the sport, spend hours discussing and following it, it matters to us. not just as entertainment, but for what it means to us as tennis players, what people can achieve when they dedicate themselves to something. it tells us something about what it is to be a human being. doping ruins this meaning. it's the dishonesty of it.

there are a lot of people, i.e. us, who wouldn't watch tennis if they knew that these guys were doping, no matter how 'entertaining' the matches were, because it wouldn't matter to us in the same way as if they were clean.

Yeah. it matters, maybe not to you, but it does matter to other people. it affects us deeply.

 

[Sadyv]

They are most assuredly using PEDs and other methods. With the long tennis year, the traveling, and the way they modern game has devolved into favoring grinding and long rallies to the near exclusion of all other options, the wear and tear on the body is severe, and they need something to help their bodies recover.

 

[ctoth666]

i don't know about that. it think it does matter. a lot of us love the sport, spend hours discussing and following it, it matters to us. not just as entertainment, but for what it means to us as tennis players, what people can achieve when they dedicate themselves to something. it tells us something about what it is to be a human being. doping ruins this meaning. it's the dishonesty of it.

there are a lot of people, i.e. us, who wouldn't watch tennis if they knew that these guys were doping, no matter how 'entertaining' the matches were, because it wouldn't matter to us in the same way as if they were clean.

Yeah. it matters, maybe not to you, but it does matter to other people. it affects us deeply.

Again, you needn't stand on any moral high ground, and you shouldn't put athletes on a pedestal. It's completely psychological. I would love tennis the same whether it was confirmed or not, and I still love it now even amidst all the doubt and accusations. You know the only time I've ever watched baseball is when someone has been juiced up on steroids and chasing records, and the only time I've watched cycling is when Lance Armstrong doped his way to victory, and the only time I've ever watched The Worlds Strongest Man competition is when Marius Pudzianowski was hopped up on who-knows-what. The list goes on. Doing doesn't ruin the meaning--just you think it does. And the only reason it's a "dishonest" practice is because of rules, without which it wouldn't be dishonest anymore, would it?

Again, it's just like illegal street drugs. There's not a damn thing wrong with magic mushrooms. They are perfectly healthy and can actually make you happier for the rest of your life. But they are illegal. I didn't decide that they should be illegal, and even though I know that they are, I'm still willing to eat them. But there are some people who think all drugs are bad, and they disapprove of anyone who takes them because they think they're better than that. And then people can get locked just for possessing them. But they aren't illegal everywhere, which makes their illegality a result of prevailing attitudes in certain cultures, among other things. My point is this: if doping weren't "illegal," would it still ruin the meaning for you? Think about it.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

there's no doping in tennis.

tio toni said so.

 

[vokazu]

Go to 3:19 for discussion about Tara Moore doping story