Tennis

Tennis is a sport with notable doping cases, with 169 registered cases (1.2% of all violations). United States leads in violations with 15 cases, while Cannabis is the most frequently detected substance (16 cases). The average suspension length is 20.1 months. Tennis ranks #16 globally among all sports tracked by the Anti-Doping Database..

Number of cases in Tennis Last 10 Years

International Tennis Federation

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Sport Global Ranking
1,493
···
169
Global Ranking: #16 of 178 sports

169

Tennis cases

1.2%

Of all violations

14,670

Total global cases
Tennis's share of all violations 1.2%
169 of 14,670

Tennis has the most violations in anti-doping rule violations globally, with 169 registered cases1.2% of all 14,670 verified cases in the Anti-Doping Database. Based on verified cases in the Anti-Doping Database.

Number of cases in Tennis By Country
Top Country: United States

15

United States cases

8.9%

Of global cases

169

Total Tennis cases
United States's share of Tennis violations 8.9%
15 of 169

United States has the most violations in Tennis with 15 registered violations, though cases are more evenly distributed globally. This represents 8.9% of the sport's 169 total cases globally.

The average suspension length for sanctioned Tennis athletes in United States is 20.1 months, shorter than the global average of 30.1 months.

Substance use in Tennis
Most Detected Substance: Cannabis

16

Tennis cases

9.5%

Of sport cases

519

Global Cannabis cases
Cannabis's share of Tennis violations 9.5%
16 of 169

Cannabis has the most violations in Tennis with 16 violations out of 169 total cases (9.5%). Though cases are more evenly distributed globally.

Globally, Cannabis has been detected in 519 cases across all sports, ranking #9 among all prohibited substances.

The average suspension length for Cannabis violations is 9.3 months, shorter than the global average of 30.1 months.


Cannabis are one of the most commonly used illicit drugs and can be found within the dried flowers, leaves or resin of the Cannabis plant. Cannabis may also be known as marijuana, pot, hash, ganja, green or weed. It is most commonly smoked but can also be eaten. Cannabis use is most commonly associated with recreational or social settings but regardless of the environment in which it is taken, if it is found in your system on competition day there are serious consequences. Cannabinoids are listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List since 1 January 2004. Cannabis not classified as a performance enhancing drug, but is on the Prohibited List because the drug is damaging to the athletes health. According to National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) in Australia cannabis use can negatively impact on a person's sporting performance in a variety of ways. It is known to increase heart rate while decreasing cardiac stroke volume, resulting in diminished peak performance. It can also result in reduced sport performance through slowed reaction time, problems with motor coordination, hand-eye coordination, and perceptual accuracy. Cannabis can affect appetite and food cravings and potentially undermine body mass and nutrition. Use of cannabis could even be potentially dangerous in sports that rely on quick reactions and fast decision-making. In addition, for some people, cannabis use can cause increased anxiety, panic, nervousness and restlessness thus causing disruption to sleeping patterns. Some people may believe that cannabis use makes them sleep better and be more relaxed and less nervous before playing sport. Currently however, no research has objectively demonstrated that cannabis use results in observable increases in performance through relaxing the athlete or improving their sleeping patterns. In the term of being bad for the athlete health, smoking cannabis exposes the lungs to both carbon monoxide and tar which increase the risks of a range of health problems including respiratory tract infections, bronchitis and lung cancer. (Source: National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC), Australia, ncpic.org.au)

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Number of Active Sanctions Ending Year for Tennis
Gender Distribution
Male 72.4
123 cases
Female 27.6
47 cases
Analysis: Tennis shows an unusually high proportion of female cases (27.6%) compared to the global average (19.8%), a difference of 7.8 percentage points. Global average: 80.2% male, 19.8% female

About International Tennis Federation

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The Anti-Doping Database currently contains 14,670 verified anti-doping rule violations across all sports and all countries, and is updated regularly.