Former tennis player Jelena Dokic has raised about the lack of accountability for companies providing contaminated products to players who are involved in doping scandals. Recently, two of the world’s best players in men’s and women’s tennis have tested positive for banned substances.
In March, men’s reigning world number one Jannik Sinner tested positive for the banned substance clostebol back in March in two doping tests. The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, escaped a ban after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted his counsel’s response where they claimed that the availability of the banned substance in the player’s sample was because of receiving cream from one member of the coaching staff to treat an injury.
On the other hand, women’s reigning world number two and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek received a one-match suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. Those developments once again highlighted the doping issue in tennis. Certain quarters in the community have blamed the players and asked them to exercise more caution to avoid such incidents in the future.
Former Australia player Dokic was recently quoted in a report. In it, she raised her voice about the lack of accountability for companies that provide contaminated products to athletes, which led to the players testing positive in doping tests. She also expressed the opinion that there is a lot of spotlight on the players.
“There’s been a lot of spotlight on players ... but then no spotlight on actually why that happened and why there was contamination, why a company or whoever supplied and so on isn’t bearing responsibility,” she said. “I think it’s a very unclear process, takes a toll, especially on the players, and definitely needs to be quicker. There are a lot more people out there that need to bear responsibility for certain things.”
Thank you to all the fans around the world for voting for me. Winning this award for the second time means so much to me, especially because it’s coming directly from you 🫶🏻 https://t.co/nQ2myEmdPa
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) December 11, 2024