Tennis is not a sport with a lot of doping cases. In the Anti-Doping Database, we have registered 156 athletes banned for doping. To end up on the top ten list of sports with the most doping cases, a sport must have more than 300 doping cases registered in our database.
Our stats show that between four and 12 tennis-players are banned each year. The last tennis-player we have registered in the database is the Brazilian player Victor Bini who received a 13 month suspension for Clomiphene.
No cases in French Open since 2011
The last athlete to test positive during Roland-Garros, was Robert Kendrick. He was banned for eight months after testing positive for Methylhexaneamine during the tournament in 2011. He was originally sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for 12 months. The American appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and had it reduced to eight months.
His positive test came from using a pill intended to counteract the effects of jet lag.
In comparison Australian Open has had six incidents where a tennis player has tested positive during the tournament. Three tennis players have tested positive during Wimbledon – the only grass Grand Slam on the tour. Four players have tested positive during the US Open which is the last Grand Slam of the season. Two of the four were wheelchair tennis players.
Brazil and USA top the tennis stats
Brazil and USA both tops the countries with the most tennis-players banned for doping with 14 each. They are followed by Russia and Spain, which have had 13 players banned for a prohibited substance. Italy follows with 11 and on six place France comes with 9 players suspended for violating an anti-doping rule.
When it comes to substances Cannabis is the most popular banned substance to abuse. 15 tennis-players has been sidelined after testing positive for this drug. Hydrochlorothiazide comes in second with 10 positive tests. Cocaine is on third place together with the anabolic steroid Stanozolol – both drugs are responsible for nine athletes being banned. Nandrolone is the second most used anabolic steroid in tennis. We have registered eight athletes banned after testing positive for this substance.
Out of the 156 banned athletes, 36 has been given a two-year ban. 15 has been sidelined for one year while 13 has been of the court for four years.
Budget Ten Times Doubled In 12 Years
In 2010 the anti-doping budget at International Tennis Federation (ITF) was $1.5 million. Today the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had a budget for 2022 of $15,8 million. A year later the budget was $17.3 million. The ITIA budget is set by its members, with each funding organisation contributing an equitable amount of one seventh. The funders are ATP, WTA, ITF, and Grand Slams (Wimbledon, Roland-Garros, Australian Open and US Open).
The budget cover both anti-corruption and anti-doping efforts. It is, according to the ITIA website, the sport’s highest ever investment into integrity.
Doping Tests More Than Tripled Since 2009
In 2009, the ITF conducted 2.126 tests. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency statistics for 2022, the total number of samples collected in the sport was 7.068. In its annual review published in 2023, ITIA reports that they had conducted 7.247 tests.
ITIA was fully operational from January 1st, 2022. The agency is a fully independent and integrated global anti-doping and anti-corruption integrity organization in sport.
Nicole Sapstead was appointed as Senior Director for Anti-Doping. She came from the position as CEO of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) – a position she held for six years.
Sapstead started in the position in September 2021.
Links:
Roland-Garros - https://www.rolandgarros.com/
The International Tennis Federation - https://www.itftennis.com/en/
The International Tennis Integrity Agency - https://itia.tennis/
The ITIA anti-doping Program for 2022 - https://www.itia.tennis/media/qgldovlk/tadp-2022.pdf
ITIA annual review – 2023 - https://www.itia.tennis/media/4nvpixfe/itia_annualreview2023.pdf
ITIA Senior Director for Anti-Doping - Nicole Sapstead - appointed - https://www.itia.tennis/news/itia-news/nicole-sapstead-senior-director-for-anti-doping/