Clean Slate
Tennis continues to tighten its doping rules, testing programs, etc. This is a smart strategy by the leaders of the sport. Because when doping taints a sport as it has done with all the questions swirling around cycling, track and field and baseball the past couple years, it really detracts from the achievements on the field of play. Even though there is this legal theory of “innocent until proven guilty,” the reality is that most fans assume the worst when an athlete is accused of anything. However, although I don’t have any inside info regarding test results, etc., thus far tennis has not had a major drug problem. Think about it. The sports which have had the most suspensions related to doping all require tremendous amounts of strength, speed and/or endurance. Clearly, tennis requires strength, flexibility, speed and stamina, but they are generally not needed to an extreme degree. They all serve as complements to the players’ tennis skill. Therefore, although there are probably a few tennis pros looking for an edge, the majority are following the clean path to tournament titles.
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