A new controversy in the world of tennis is brewing following a recent survey of professional players conducted by ESPN.
The poll asked 31 unnamed professional players a series of questions ranging from what they wear to what they consume. The seemingly harmless survey has uncovered a potentially worrying issue concerning the topic of doping. One fifth (22.3%) of the players admitted that they know somebody who has consumed Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) at some point in their career.
Along with the candid admission by the group, the majority (71%) believes that less than 10% of current players on the tour have taken PEDs. The rest of the sample believes that 11%-25% have consumed illegal substances.
The effectiveness of doping controls in tennis has been put into the limelight following Maria Sharapova’s failed drugs test earlier this year. Sharapova is currently suspended from competition after testing positive for meldonium. The ESPN poll has found that a whopping 93.5% of players believe that the Russian should receive some form of punishment with the majority supporting a one-year ban.
Speculation about doping in tennis is nothing new facing the sport. Andy Murray recently made headlines after he openly admitted that he has had suspicions about other players on the tour.
“I have played against players and thought, ‘They won’t go away,’ or ‘They don’t seem to be getting tired,’ the world No.2 said earlier this year.
“You hear things.” He said when asked about doping in tennis.
In 2015 Murray was one of a group of elite players that called for stricter anti-doping measures following the discovery of widespread doping in Russian athletics. Russia is currently suspended from the sport and it is still unclear if they will be participating in this year’s Olympic games.
“I think the more transparency the better, there’s absolutely no question about that,” Murray told the media last year.
“We, as a sport, could invest more money in anti-doping processes. Prize money now is so high, there’s no reason not to have as perfect a process as possible.”
Other notable players that have called for tougher anti-doping control include Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. These concerns now have stronger legitimacy following the ESPN poll. 65% of players said that they don’t think they get tested enough by authorities.
In 2015 the International Tennis Federation (ITF) conducted 4433 anti-doping tests. These include in and out-of-competition blood and urine samples.
