The positive results for doping of tennis players Sinner and Swiatek, a controversial matter

The tennis world opens the year with a celebration of Australian Open. For two weeks, the best tennis players in the world will compete to win this prestigious trophy.

This first grand slam of the season, however, is marked (or colored) by recent positive doping of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatektwo of the most prominent figures in world tennis today.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recently filed an appeal after being dissatisfied with the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which declared the Italian athlete innocent after testing positive for clostebol in two anti-doping controls. The Agency (ITIA) interpreted that the ingestion was accidental, and that the substance, an anabolic steroid prohibited by WADA, could reach the body of sinful by contacting his masseuse, who used a wound healing spray containing doping substances.

Iga Swiatekfor his part, was allowed to test positive for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina. Listed as a hormonal and metabolic modulator, and used for its supposed improvement in cardiac function and endurance in athletes, WADA included it on the list of banned substances in 2014. As with the Italian tennis player, the ITIA declared that the contamination was accidental, and that it came from a melatonin drug, available over the counter in Poland, containing said substance prohibited by LOVE. The current number two in the world ranking took it to combat sleep problems and jet lag, and claimed to be unaware of the substance he had taken.

Although the world anti-doping code describes various actions and behaviors that can be considered doping, the most common problem is often, as in the case of Sinner and Swiatekthe use of drugs and supplements found in the list of prohibitions of LOVE. As explained by the director of the Spanish Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sports (CELAD) (DOI: 10.18176/archmeddeporte.00107), for the Agency to classify a substance as prohibited, it must comply three needs:

1) With scientific or medical evidence on improvements in sports performance,

2) With scientific or medical evidence about the risk to the athlete’s health and

3) WADA has determined that the use of the substance violates the “spirit of sport.”

Doping is not only a threat to the integrity of the sport, but also poses a risk to the health of those who consume it. Cardiovascular, liver and kidney problems, hormonal changes or growth retardation are, according to CELAD, some of the harmful consequences that the use of doping substances can cause for athletes.

Protecting the health of athletes and guaranteeing fair play is, without a doubt, one of the main reasons why WADA was established, the organization responsible worldwide for promoting, coordinating and monitoring the fight against doping.

We must not forget, however, that in some cases involuntary doping may occur. The story of Swiatek highlights the need to be careful with the medications and nutritional supplements you take. Reading the leaflets carefully, or using tools such as the NoDopApp application or the NoDopWeb platform, can be very useful when it comes to preventing or minimizing the risk of involuntary violations. The NoDopWeb platform, developed by CELAD, allows users to check in an easy and convenient way if a drug contains any of the substances prohibited by WADA.