Swiatek drugs case leaves leading players fearful of similar fate
Emma Raducanu, Alex de Minaur, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Andrey Rublev say they live in fear of a contaminated supplement, especially after the case of Iga Swiatek coming to light
Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
The recent revelation that five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek had failed a drugs test for a contaminated medication appears to have sent shockwaves around the Tours.
The Pole has just completed a one-month ban after the melatonin she was taking to help her with sleep and jet lag was contaminated with a banned drug, TMZ (trimetazidine). Swiatek, not surprisingly, was shocked to fail a test and other players are being extra-careful to make sure they know everything they possibly could about whatever medication or legal supplements they may be using.
In truth, most players are already paranoid about what they can take, especially when they buy something over the counter at a pharmacy.
“I think in general, not just me, but a lot of the players I know, are quite apprehensive,” said Britain’s Emma Raducanu, the former US Open champion. “Everything we take, we are very aware of the situation and how easily things can be contaminated.
RADUCANU: “To batch test something costs a grand”
Speaking to British reporters in London on Friday, Raducanu said goes to every possible length to ensure that she does not suffer the same fate as Swiatek.
“There are certain supplements that I may want to take, but I can’t take them because they’re (sold) over the counter and they’re not batch-tested,” she said. “To batch test something is about a grand for one little thing, so it’s very expensive. For the things that you really, really need to take then obviously it’s worth that. But you just have to cut out a lot of things that you wouldn’t necessarily take.
“I’m very careful with what I drink, what I eat, if I leave my water around, I’m very on edge about it. But it’s just part of the sport, we’re all in the same boat.”
Kokkinakis: “It’s vitamin C for me and a sleeping pill”
Thanasi Kokkinakis said he limits what he takes, even when he’s not feeling well and could really do with something to make him better.
“I had a cold, and I wanted to get a health supplement just to help clear that yesterday,” he told Tennis Majors at the UTS Grand Final in London. “I asked the guy, what do you think is good? And then he’s like, this will help it tremendously. And then I was like, you know what? I don’t even know what’s in it? Even if you think you know, you probably don’t know. So I’m like, ginger tea for me. I’m going the complete other end of the spectrum…I’m sure I could definitely push the line a little bit more as to things I could take, but it’s pretty much vitamin C and a sleeping pill for me.”
Ausiee No 1 Alex de Minaur said he is as careful as anyone. “Ultimately the goal is to take nothing,” he said. “You want a clean sport, and you know that would make you know, the cleanest of sports, no, yeah, no substances at all.”
Rublev says decisions should come quicker
Russian Andrey Rublev admitted he was “super-afraid”.
“That’s why (in general) I’m not taking anything, because I’m super-afraid to take something that I didn’t know,” he said. “I try not to put this in my head, because to live with this fear is tough.
Rublev said he also feels that rulings in doping cases should come much faster than they sometimes do.
“There are guys (where)…not on purpose, I don’t know, someone was feeling super bad or whatever, and in one tournament there is nothing around (so) in one pharmacy, they say, OK, we have something for you to feel better,and there is nothing (else) around. And maybe he doesn’t have big team to check those things, he took it and then…first of all, take long process for them to give decisions.
“So they already disqualify the guy for half year or whatever (a provisional ban), and give him, after half year, a decision, OK, one and a half years more, and you kill the guy without giving him even a chance.”
And Rublev said he felt there should be leeway as to how much of something you are allowed to take before it is deemed a breach.
“There is some other sports that are taking much more stuff, and it’s OK. Of course, you want to have a clean sport. But you also want not so strict because then you make all the tennis players so afraid, yeah, that even those situations (that are not you fault) cost you a year. It shouldn’t be like that.
“I think there should be a little more understanding of the situation. And if something happened, they should give a faster answer to the athlete. In my opinion, when we have not that many years (of a career), he cannot wait one year out here only to give, OK, what are we gonna decide on this stuff?”
