Tennis players’ association led by Novak Djokovic calls anti-doping processes ‘broken’ in letter
The cold war between tennis players and the sport’s integrity authority turned several degrees hotter this week, as the leading but emerging tennis organizing body directly questioned tennis’ methods of pursuing anti-doping and corruption policies.
In a letter addressed to Karen Moorehouse, the CEO of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), and seen by The AthleticsAhmad Nassar, the executive director of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), alleged that ITIA investigators have occasionally seized players’ personal cellphones, harassed their families and threatened players with sanctions and suspensions unless they immediately do what is required of them.
“The reports we have received show that ITIA’s investigative process is broken and that ITIA investigators are abusing their roles,” Nassar wrote.
“While we hope these incidents violate the ITIA’s investigation protocols, given the prevalence of complaints, we believe there are flaws at the core of the way the ITIA conducts itself,” he added.
Nassar, who co-leads the PTPA with Djokovic, said The Athletics that more than ten players have contacted the PTPA in recent months to allege aggressive treatment by ITIA investigators.
One player claimed that investigators demanded he hand over his phone and threatened to temporarily suspend him if he contacted a lawyer. Other players claimed they were threatened with disclosure of a provisional suspension without clear, established grounds for sanction. These players cannot be identified as this would reveal that they are under ITIA investigation.
The PTPA did not disclose whether these allegations were related to anti-doping crimes or anti-corruption crimes, and a footnote in Nassar’s letter characterized an investigator as “all individuals acting under the control of the ITIA.”
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In a statement to The Athletics Issued through Adrian Bassett, the ITIA’s chief spokesperson, the agency characterized the allegations as “serious, yet generic,” and said it would investigate all specific allegations of inappropriate behavior.
“We currently believe that ITIA investigators are working within the rules, with respect and as a reflection of our values,” the report said.
The agency added that the procedures for issuing a provisional suspension are clearly described in the list of rules related to doping and anti-corruption, and said thatThe decision to take away a player’s cell phone is not one taken lightly. “It must be necessary, proportionate and lawful. We will not apply for a device without full consideration of both the information received and the impact it will have on an individual.”
According to people involved in drafting the letter to the ITIA, who spoke on condition of anonymity to outline the process, the letter marked a change in the PTPA’s strategy in how it deals with the most powerful organizations in the tennis.
Nassar copied the letter from the law firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges, which acted on behalf of the NFL Players Association and the National Basketball Players Association. The PTPA has now retained the firm to represent the organization and investigate potential lawsuits and other challenges to the governing bodies that have controlled tennis for the past half-century – the ATP and WTA Tours, and the four Grand Slam tournaments, which all were copied onto the letter. It has also hired James Quinn, a former Weil partner and sports attorney.
Ahmad Nassar has been the executive director of the PTPA since the summer of 2022. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for PTPA)
The challenges to the sport’s power structure can take many forms, according to Quinn and those involved in drafting the ITIA letter. They include possible antitrust lawsuits and pleas to the U.S. Congress and other government agencies.
“If you look at tennis and how it treats players, it’s basically pre-Neanderthal,” Quinn said in an interview Thursday. “This is an antitrust fire zone.”
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Nassar’s letter to the ITIA, asking for an initial response by October 15, includes questions about the qualifications and compensation of researchers and doping control officials charged with collecting urine from players for drug testing.
It also questions how the ITIA balances the legal principle of presumption of innocence with its suspension system, whereby a player who does not successfully appeal against the provisional suspension associated with a positive doping test is cited and will be banned from the sport while the full ITIA investigation is ongoing. is performed in their test.
Nassar also asked for clarity on the nature of the evidence the ITIA needs to launch an investigation, whether in doping or anti-corruption, including match fixing and spot betting by players or referees.
“Players register to be part of events organized by our financiers (ATP, WTA, Grand Slams and ITF),” the ITIA said.
“Provisional suspensions cannot be issued without valid reasons. There is a strict procedure that is followed and an independent appeals process for players.”
The letter follows two important developments for the ITIA.
Last Saturday, October 5, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that it would appeal ITIA’s decision not to suspend men’s world number 1 Jannik Sinner for two anti-doping violations.
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Sinner tested positive for clostebol twice in March, but aAn independent hearing convened by the ITIA found that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” for these positive tests. The tribunal accepted his explanation that he was infected by a healing spray purchased by his trainer, Umberto Ferrara. Sinner’s physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, used the spray on a cut on his hand and then gave Sinner a massage on his back and applied treatments to his feet, causing Sinner to become infected.
The WADA, which sits above the ITIA, is aiming for “a period of ineligibility of one to two years”, during which the two-time Grand Slam champion will be banned from playing tennis. The WADA appeal is now overseen by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On Thursday, October 10, CAS released the written reasons for its decision to reduce ITIA’s ban on former women’s world number 1 Simona Halep from four years to nine months. The large discrepancy between CAS and ITIA’s conclusions, and the perception that Sinner’s treatment is beneficial, have further shaken players’ impressions of the body that governs integrity in their sport.
Simona Halep played in Hong Kong earlier this month after her return to tennis was derailed by injury. (Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Images via Getty Images)
“It is very clear that we have a system that is not working properly,” Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, said at a news conference in Shanghai. “There are way too many inconsistencies, there are way too many governing bodies involved, and you know what, this whole thing doesn’t help our sport at all.”
Djokovic is a founding member of the PTPA, the organization he and others created four years ago to give players a unified voice independent of the two tours, the ATP and the WTA. He is one of many players, not all of them PTPA members, who have become frustrated with tennis’ status quo, despite the existence of ATP and WTA player councils designed to involve the players in the machinations of the sport they show off. the world.
“We recognize that it is uncomfortable for players to be investigated for alleged misconduct; however, it is our job to investigate matters thoroughly – to protect everyone in the sport, including PTPA members,” the ITIA said.
Nassar’s letter agrees – to a point.
“The players want a game characterized by fair play and integrity, but they do not deserve to be subjected to arbitrary and overbearing investigative abuse,” he wrote.
(Top photo: Hector Ratamal/AFP via Getty Images)
