Rafael Nadal has already been accused of doping several times – each time the world number one proved his critics wrong. Now the Spaniard explained that it is almost impossible to dope in professional tennis.
Rafael Nadal has a clean slate. Countless doping tests prove that and the Spaniard has nothing to blame himself for. Woe betide anyone who tries to link the Spaniard and doping.
Former French Minister of Sport Roselyne Bachelot, in particular, has felt the effects of this. Bachelot said Nadal Doping, who sued the French woman in November 2017 for her testimony and won the trial in court. The 32-year-old received compensation of 10,000 euros.
Now Nadal explained that it is hardly possible to cheat in tennis and to gain an advantage with prohibited substances.
“In every sport, there are people who cheat. But I don’t think our sport has major doping problems. There are fewer cases than in other sports. We have to be available for doping tests for an hour every day. 365 days a year. It’s a very strict protocol,” Nadal said in La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The eleven-time French Open winner praised the work of the ATP: “Maybe there are crimes at smaller tournaments, but not at ours. ATP takes it very seriously and does a great job.”
Besides the doping debate, Nadal also spoke about the eternal topic of the tournament calendar. Some players on the tour complained publicly about the tight schedule of the ATP and that there were too many tournaments. Not for Nadal.
On the contrary. “I would like to have more events. Tennis can also be great if you don’t have the best and greatest players. Especially when many people are allowed to experience and perform our sport. 250 people who are allowed to play tennis are better than 100, right?” added the 17-time major winner.
Something Nadal would like to change. The mandatory events are too long for Nadal and there are too many of them, according to the Mallorcan.