Slow News Week

With the exception of a few players being dubiously "exonerated", there isn't much going on in the tennis world these days. As I wait for the usual pumped up contingency of players to arrive down under, I happened to catch a long drive golf championship on a television at the gym today. Man, most of those guys are quite obviously juiced.

Why Waste Two Posts?

Gasquet's cocaine kiss fable gets more mileage and Wickmayer all set for New Zealand. Any sob story will do.

What is Tiger's Doctor up to? My (pure) speculation

Clearly, Tiger's doctor, recently implicated in performance enhancing drug distribution, was up to more than just helping out in the healing of injuries. It would be irresponsible for me not to speculate so here goes...
There seems to be a rash of these centrifuge based "treatments", none of which is proven. Receently tennis player Tamira Paszek got herself into some trouble for one of these "treatments" and there was something similar used in Operacion Puerto.
I suspect that these spinning centrifuge devices are used to indoctrinate the player's human cells with growth hormone and other performance enhancing drugs, then the drugs are degraded or somehow removed from the mix and the cells are then put back in the body. This way, the cells are activated without the performance enhancing drug ever entering the person's body. They could have such a growth hormone treatment and test negative the same day. The cells will do what they were activated to do by signal transduction even though the drug is no longer present. This is, of course, speculative on my part, but I can't think of another reason that an athlete would need a doctor like this to provide PED's when they are all readily available on the internet. The idea is to get the benefits and still test negative. They could look you in the eye and say that they've never actually taken any performance enhancing drug, since it never entered their body.

More Trouble for Tiger and Friends

This one could be interesting:

NEW YORK -- A Canadian doctor who has treated golfer Tiger Woods, swimmer Dara Torres and NFL players is suspected of providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, according to a newspaper report.

There is something that I happen to suspect Dara Torres, Tiger Woods and "NFL Players" have in common. It seems like a bit of a coincidence that they are all visiting the same Canadian doctor.

Wickmayer/Malisse weaseling out of suspension

Court suspends their 1 year bans:

Victory at the European Commission in Brussels and the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights could force WADA to drastically change its rules on when and where athletes can be tested out of competition.

This is a victory for juicers everywhere.

Pumped for Australia...

As we approach a new year in tennis, who will arrive in Australia looking pumped? Safina has been thinning down and is out of the early tournaments. Nadal is slimmed down. Will he show up in Australia back on his "training regimen" and looking as pumped as ever? Venus has been looking a bit slimmed down of late (and not playing well). Serena will need all the "natural" muscle she can conjure up to avenge the loss to Clijsters. And what of Clijsters?
My sure-thing prediction: There will be a lot of oddly pumped up players showing up for the Australian Open and Peter Bodo will instead focus on kangaroos and wallabies.

Looking at the Evidence

Steroid Nation has a post up about the Marion Jones debacle.  Jones had her Gold medals stripped.  They also couldn't award the runner-up, Katerina Thanou from Greece the Gold Medal, because she had her own scandal 4 years later in Athens, when she was involved with Kostas Kenteris, a male Greek sprinter who won a Gold in 2000, in faking a motorcycle accident in order to avoid a drug test.  The reason I bring this up is the picture above.  Women simply do not get this kind of muscle naturally. Yet, to my memory, Thanou was not being accused  of using steroids prior to the fake motorcycle accident.   My point is that there should be no doubt from the visual evidence above that this woman was using steroids.  I think that so many athletes are now using performance enhancing drugs that we have lost the sense of what a naturally athletic build looks like. It would appear that the drug test caught her by surprise.  She must have believed that she already had beaten the drug tests and could get one last injection in before the race.  She apparently had already pulled it off in the previous Olympics. Neither Marion Jones, Katerina Thanou or Kostas Kenteris had ever tested positive for a performance enhancing drug. Unless the drug testing is absolutely ruthless, we will continue to have athletes that anyone with eyes can see are cheats, winning championships that are later tainted.

More Mysterious Heart Problems

Update:  Oops, I misread the story.  I understood that he was back in competition.  Well, I'd scrub it, but I'll leave it up as a record of me jumping to possibly unfair conclusions and talking too much crap.  

Albert Costa of the Spanish Davis Cup team had some heart trouble:

The 34-year-old Costa was admitted to a hospital near Barcelona after complaining of heart palpitations, chest pains and hypertension, the Spanish tennis federation said. He was released hours later and was at home resting.

There sure seem to be a lot of healthy young professional athletes with heart problems.  While it's not impossible that some of these are just isolated incidents, it seems likely that some of these heart problems are related to the use of performance enhancing drugs such as EPO, as well as amphetamine derivatives.  

Steroids Likely a Cause of Kidney Damage

This is a NYT's story highlighting the fact that many bodybuilders are suffering severe kidney damage, likely due to steroid use.  While their use is on the extreme, it points out some of the dangers of steroid use (Thanks Heidi).

Steroids in other Sports

Over the past few days, I've receieved e-mails and comments asking me for opinions about steroid use in other sports, including soccer, golf, boxing and mixed martial arts.  Each of these sports has it's own drug testing (or faux drug testing, as the case may be).  Each has different athletic needs that may or may not benefit from steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.  I started this blog to focus on what I perceive to be a steroid problem in tennis.  The absurdity of these pumped up tennis players trumped the obvious steroid use in other sports for me.  I'll probably keep this blog devoted to tennis, with the occasional post of other sports if I think it is relevant. For the record, I have little doubt that boxing and mixed martial arts has a serious steroid problem.  I doubt many fighters could compete if they were drug free, from what I see.  I think that soccer has a definite EPO and amphetamine problem and may also have a steroid problem.  I am starting to suspect that even golf has a bit of a steroid problem.  I would have considered that idea absurd a couple of years ago, but certain players, including a well-known player recently caught up in another kind of scandal, seem suspiciously pumped.  Consider this an invitation to start your own blog on the subject of steroids in other particular sports.  I would love to see a "Golf Has a Steroid Problem" or "Boxing Has a Steroid Problem" blog out there if you think that steroids or other PED's are negatively impacting these sports.  

In the meantime, I will focus on tennis, until the steroid problem in tennis is fully exposed.  At that point, I plan to go after the NBA, so please save me the "Basketball Has a Steroid Problem" blog...

WADA Appealing Wickmayer/Malisse bans

Interesting that WADA believes the penalty should be steeper (thanks Anonymous):

"To drop from two to one year there have to be justifiable elements,"Wada legal director Olivier Niggli said.
"We're going to appeal because we still don't have all the elements which will allow us to decide whether a sanction of one year is appropriate,"

It is also interesting that WADA needs to appeal in order to find out the details of the case. Are tennis officials trying to keep WADA at arm's length?

Another on the Nadal Is Losing Weight Bandwagon

Mark Philappoussis says in this interview from Dec. 1, that Nadal has lost 15 lbs (his interview starts around 1 hour and 50 minutes in and the Nadal comment is at 2 hours and 13 minutes).

Now for a guy who doesn't lift weights to any significant extent, how does he lose 15 lbs? He doesn't seem more cut, so it doesn't seem that he is cutting fat, so unless he has a chronic medical disorder, it seems strange that he would just lose 15 lbs of muscle. (thanks anonymous via the website that shall not be named).

Indian Tennis Pro Discusses Drug Cheating

I hadn't seen this story from back in February of this year (Thanks Ashino):

Indian tennis pro Mahesh Bhupathi has given a whole new dimension to the ongoing debate surrounding anti-doping rules in the game. The experienced Indian has squarely blamed tennis players for compelling the authorities to adopt new stringent dope rules. Bhupathi pointed out that tennis players from all over the world have brought it upon themselves by repeatedly cheating.


“The tennis players themselves have brought it (anti-doping rules) upon themselves. A lot of players have been cheating. The players have to cooperate to weed out instances of cheating from sports,” Bhupathi told reporters here today.


Clearly, players who are not cheating and are angry about losing to juicers need to get together on this issue. If it becomes obvious that the beefed up players are against the drug testing rules and the less juiced players are in favor, it will highlight the problem. Unfortunately, since many of the top players are likely juicing and they are the ones most likely to be listened to on this subject, we have a bit of conundrum.

Serena fined $82,500 for possible 'roid rage episode

If this was a case of 'roid rage, I'm not sure an $82,500 fine from a tournament in which she won over $350,000 is going to serve as much of a deterrent.

A Player Comments on an experience with PED's

She was only on prednisone, which technically is in the steroid class, although it is not a muscle building drug. In any case, she felt it helped her game significantly and I pass her story along for the record, although I'm not familiar with prednisone being used as a performance enhancing drug. (Thanks Ashino)

Slow News Week

I got nothin' much, so here's a pic of Bammer for your consideration...

Why Tennis Officials Might Be Inclined to Look the Other Way

U.S. Tennis Association tax forms show that former CEO of professional tennis Arlen Kantarian received more than $9 million in total compensation in 2008, his last year running the U.S. Open.
According to documents obtained Monday by The Associated Press, Kantarian was paid about $1.6 million in base compensation, about $2.3 million in bonus and incentive compensation and nearly $5.2 million in other reportable compensation that year.

I have to admit that, for 9 million, I'd personally inject these players myself.

Wilander on Nadal

One wonders whether he thinks this through to its logical conclusion. (I think he probably does, but chooses not to say the obvious):

He's not playing any different to the way he used to, but he might not be quite as strong. He's lost some weight because of his knees maybe.

How is a tennis player going to lose weight by playing less tennis? When you lay off a cardiovascular sport like tennis, you are likely to gain weight. (Thanks for the link, Anonymous)

Udate with Pic:

I have actually been slow to embrace the "Nadal is getting smaller" meme, but I think this pic shows a smaller Nadal. He still has decent bicep definition, but his size is down. He never had much of a chest, but it looks even smaller. It is hard to tell with his new sleeved look, but I think it is hard to argue against the conclusion that he is smaller. Given that, and the recent Agassi revelation, I am giving more credence to the rumor that he got into some kind of drug testing trouble and has had to lay off the supplements. You have a player who has been complaining about drug testing, who mysteriously dropped out of a very important tournament, who is getting smaller for no apparent reason and who is losing more matches. Is there another conclusion?

Here's Baba's Retort (for those following the comments):

I'll say that his left bicep is still hanging in there, but I'm otherwise unimpressed. His right arm was always smaller, but looks downright wasted away in these recent pics, his shoulders seem like a regular guy's (I admit it's harder to tell with his current sleeved shirt style). Anyone else, feel free to chime in.

Evolution

Del Potro seems to be "progressing" a bit, particularly in the deltoid region (biceps still unimpressive), so I wouldn't want it to go unnoticed.

Update: I thought this pic was rather tame, but a commenter suggests it's photoshopped. It's not - got it right off a news feed.

From the "Could this be 'roid rage?" collection

I haven't really gone after Xavier Malisse, because I really wasn't all that familiar with him, he isn't that highly ranked and he doesn't look particularly juiced. Of course, that doesn't exclude the possibility of 'roids and a commenter (Thanks, Zephyr) sent a link to this episode that could be a little bit of 'roid rage. Of course, any player has his worst moment, but he is quite aggressive, so I post it for the record:


By the way, if anyone can find a clip of Wickmayer's episode in Clearwater earlier this year, I'd appreciate it.

Update: "Baba" links to an interesting incident with Malisse and makes a few other points in the comments.

ATP: Agassi Free and Clear

The ATP has, not surprisingly, decided not to pursue any kind of sanction against Agassi.

They also excuse themselves from keeping his positive test a secret:
"If we had revealed that test it would have been in contravention of the rules at the time," he said.

Now, is this true? There were players who tested positive both before and after Agassi and had their tests made public. Was there a brief change in the rules just for Andre or is this "contravention of the rules" bunk?

Another Soccer Player Dies

Mexican player dies of apparent "heart attack". This just keeps happening in Soccer, cycling and recently tennis. The story says that an autopsy is pending and hopefully they will investigate whether a PED is involved, but unless a specific drug is suspected and tested for (and I'm not sure they can pick it up even then if it's out of his system), we won't find out unless someone comes forward. While it is not unheard of for a top athlete to die in his prime ("Pistol" Pete Maravich comes to mind), this is happening way too often and I suspect that some of these deaths are due to EPO or EPO derivatives like CERA, which improve stamina, but can be quite risky.

Wickmayer Challenges Whereabouts Rule

So, she's tried the dog ate my homework route, she's tried the I didn't know I was supposed to report route and she's tried for just plain sympathy. Now she and her lawyer (and Malisse, who I guess I shouldn't ignore) have decided to go after the legality of the Whereabouts rule itself. This seems to me to be the kind of tactic a guilty party would most likely take. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I can't say I'm a legal expert, so I don't know if she can make a case, but if the rule gets squashed, we are going to see even more "pumped up" players.

Wickmayer Playing for Sympathy

Wickmayer is playing the victim.
So, to counter that, I will point out that she missed not one but 3 whereabouts tests, has altered her story, appears pumped up, has quickly moved up to number 16 in the world and one might wonder whether she had an episode of 'roid rage this year.

Safin Says Agassi Should Give His Titles Back (and His Money)

At least that's the title of this piece (Thanks Anonymous). Reading between the lines, though, it sounds like he is more angry that Agassi double-crossed the ATP:

"I'm not defending the ATP, but what he said put it in a delicate position," Safin said. "The ATP allowed him to win a lot of tournaments, a lot of money. It kept his secret. Why does he need to be so cruel with it?"

I notice he wasn't asked the obvious question and I'm wondering if we have a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Update: I'm adding a pic of Safin for reference. There are certainly differing opinions regarding suspicion of PED use for him, but I would disagree with the commenter who describes him as "scrawny."

Doping Favoritism for the Stars

The Steroid Nation blog has an interesting post about how top athletes are often given a pass and even tipped off about upcoming drug tests. It would be interesting if a smaller name player who tested positive and received a suspension sued because of this unfair treatment.

Gasquet not out of the woods...

It appears the axe keeps dropping after the Agassi revelation:

Richard Gasquet will go before the highest court in sports Tuesday for what he says was a cocaine-tainted kiss in a nightclub.
The World Anti-Doping Agency and International Tennis Federation have asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland to ban him for one to two years.

Late with the big news in tennis doping

I have been incommunicado for a few days and, surprise surprise, Wickmayer and Malisse get one year suspensions, which sad, doping enabler, Peter Bodo calls "draconian."

To Bodo's credit, he finishes his piece like this:

My immediate reaction -- that this is a case of overkill -- has been changing even as I've typed these words. I'm going to suspend judgment until the appeals are formally submitted, but it would be terribly unfair to all those players over whom Wickmayer has leapfrogged if her apparently conscious effort to avoid those tests represented something more than youthful irresponsibility.


What should be quite obvious is that Wickmayer has been playing some stellar tennis of late and looks a little pumped up. She missed 3 drug tests. To say that it isn't a real doping violation because she didn't test positive is to not understand the nature of doping. She likely missed these tests for the obvious reason that she was worried as to what the result of the tests would be. This is a common strategy, as has been pointed out on this website in the past. If players know when they will be tested, they are going to test negative, unless they are stupid or very careless. If you are going to catch players doping, you have to have tests for which they are given no advanced notice. While it's true that tennis players travel more than some athletes, most other professional sports involve traveling around the world during the season. There is simply no reason that a player couldn't tell a doping official his or her location. I'm sure they tell their husband or wife where they are (and I doubt the spouse would accept an "I forgot my password" excuse). There are millions of dollars on the line for these players. All the more reason that they need to be clean and available to prove it on a moment's notice.
It may be that this increased punishment for Wickmayer and Malisse came about because of the Agassi revelation. Nevertheless, maybe that is what what was needed to start taking doping in tennis seriously.

WADA wants some answers from The ATP

And the ATP is trying their best to dodge the bullet:

"The ATP can confirm it has received a letter from WADA," the tour said in a statement e-mailed to the AP on Monday. "When it responds it will do so directly to WADA and not through the media."
The statement continued, in part: "The ATP would also like to reiterate its policy of not commenting on anti-doping test results unless and until an anti-doping violation has been found."

Agassi Story Not Yet Dead

This is a story from a former ATP official who briefly discusses the cover-up of his positive test (thanks anonymous). There are a few other stories floating around suggesting he was using other PED's, particularly in reviving his career. It certainly wouldn't surprise me, but there isn't much meat to them at this point. In any case, the Agassi story still has some legs and could open the door for some other cover-up admissions.

Martina talks trash

Navratilova comes down hard on Agassi:

"Shocking," Navratilova said Thursday from Sarasota, Fla., in a phone interview. "Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn't own up to it. He's up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I'm concerned. He owned up to it [in the book], but it doesn't help now."


Now, in light of the comment in the post below from a top tennis official that the WTA was doing virtually no drug testing at the time she was playing and the fact that she had, shall we say, a rather powerful physique, that is rich.

Former Official Vindicated

This guy took a lot of heat for saying what is now becoming common knowledge (thanks, Rikyu):

Mendoza was widely condemned by tennis authorities for daring to speak out about his concerns. He warned in 2002 that tennis officials were living in a "fool's paradise" if they did not recognise a major problem in their sport. "Tennis is heavily under the influence of doping and they are in denial if they don't accept that," he said. In response, International Tennis Federation executive director Debbie Jevans accused Mendoza of making "broad-brush statements without any evidence".
Mendoza was not at all surprised yesterday to hear of Agassi's admission. "I didn't say it (in 2002) just because I felt like a bit of notoriety. I said it because there was so much evidence from within the sport that things were right off the rails. "I had been hearing from 1997 that they (ITF and ATP) were burying results, and the WTA wasn't testing at all." He said there was rampant speculation at the time that Agassi was using drugs."Agassi was viewed by his peers as a user," Mendoza said.

Maybe this story will have some legs

Looks like the media is actually asking some obvious and pertinent questions for a change.  I assumed that this story would just blow over like all the rest, but I'm not so sure.  This should cause some real problems for the ATP.  If nothing else, they have to explain why they let some players off and went after others publicly.  There will no doubt be demands to have other positive tests made public.  From the story (Thanks Rikyu):

"The Times asked the present ATP regime yesterday how many cases there have been since 1997 of players who tested positive for a prohibited substance and who had been charged with a doping offence who were subsequently exonerated by an independent tribunal. There was no response."

By the way - Where's Peter "I've seen nothing to refute the claim that tennis is by and large clean, and well-policed..." Bodo on this subject? Is he going to do another puff piece instead?  Once again, I'm calling you out, Bodo!

And in case there are any journalists out there with some guts, it's time to take another look at the death of Mathieu Montcourt.

I'm loading up this post, as I only get one chance if a journalist happens to peak at this site and I want good info right up top - so let me remind them that in 1998 (oops, that's 2003), there were at least 7 and possibly as many as 42 players that tested positive for steroids and were never named, dubiously blaming the tests on "tainted supplements."  Also, anyone notice the dearth of Americans sanctioned for performance enhancing drugs?  Given the recent revelations from Agassi, one might wonder whether there is a bit of pro-American bias.

Here's Agassi in 2003:(thanks anonymous)

"The one thing that I'd like to stick to is what we do know," said Agassi after his victory over South Korean Lee Hyung-Taik.
"What we know is, while there's been a minimal amount of players caught over the last 10 years, we are probably the leading sport in reference to how often we test, how professional our tests are and how strict our penalties are.
"The talk of who might be or might not be taking drugs is irresponsible,"

But She's Drug-Tested, Right?

Right...

Is the facade beginning to crack?

With the Agassi admission, we have good, clear evidence that drug testing in tennis was a farce during his playing years.  More recently, the sad excuses used by Gasquet (kissed a girl) and Wickmayer (didn't know her password) to weasel out of consequences prove that drug testing continues to be a joke and is only for show.   When will sportswriters wake up and start calling out the obvious?  We have strangely muscular players with amazing stamina, and virtually no penalties for the few players who manage to get caught.  We have an admission by the former top player in tennis that the ATP covered up his positive drug test.  We have players constantly flopping around with dubious injuries that get them out of in-competition drug tests.  And, of course, we have plenty of players that we already know have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs as documented on this website.  Can there be any doubt that there are plenty more positive tests sitting in the ATP's basement?   Can there be any doubt that tennis has a performance enhancing drug problem?

Update I:  I forgot to mention that the current top player in tennis acknowledges that there is likely a doping problem in tennis and has recently stated that drug tests should be kept for 8 years.  

Update II:  Let me add a link to another recent Federer interview where he discusses doping that was ignored by the American media just in case someone is checking out this site and is thinking about doing some journalism for a change.

Agassi in his own words not too long ago...

Thanks Baba:

Drugs and booze: “When it comes to drug testing, I’ll hold tennis up to any sport in the world.”
“I find myself focusing the most on what our sport is doing to make sure that if you’re cheating, you’ll get caught. And that’s where I take refuge. I believe our sport is on the leading edge, pioneering ways to hold players accountable.
Even when I was playing, I was drug tested one year something like 20 times, and I didn’t play as much as many others. If you cheat, it’s not a matter of if you get caught, but when you get caught.” As far as gambling is concerned, he said, “In my years playing, I never saw it or heard of it. And I would hate to see the actions of a few tarnish the sport. I support a zero-tolerance policy on this issue.”

Agassi reportedly used Crystal Meth during his playing years

Interesting story and I'm not sure what to make of it.  Of course crystal meth as a speed could enhance performance, but as a recreational drug it can leave you in very bad shape and since the year in question, '97,  was not a great year for him, I suspect it was more of a recreational  use issue (assuming it is true) that probably seriously distracted him from the game.  I am generally against players being penalized for recreational drug use as long as it is not taken during a competition, although you could argue that taking speed regularly when not competing would increase your workout stamina.  

Update:  I didn't have the whole story (now linked above, thanks Rikyu), which also notes that he weaseled out of a positive drug test with a rather feeble excuse: "I drank from Rick's cup." Tennis officials are either very gullible or they will accept any excuse from their top players.

Update II:  Sorry, this gets me more annoyed each time I think about it.  It takes 12 years before we find out about this and then only from the player hawking his book.  How many positive tests have there been over the years that remain unmentioned?

Update III:  I've now added Agassi to my post that lists all top level players known to have tested positive for drugs other than steroids.  

Federer Discussing Doping?

Someone (thanks Anonymous) put this link in the comments to a Swedish story that I think has Federer discussing doping.  Anyone know of an English version of it or a translation?  Even a rough translation to give the gist of it would be helpful.  
Thanks, 
THASP

Update:  Oops, looks like someone already briefly summarized it in the comments.  I'll post that.  Thanks again:

The article above says that Federer wants the ITF to save doping tests for up to 8 years.

Söderling does not agree: "It's one thing if the player is still active, but 8 years is a long time and I don't know what why you'd want to expose a player who has already retired. You can't punish the player and it wouldn't help the opponents he beat so I don't see the point."

It also brings up Murray's and Nadal's whining about the whereabouts. WADA's David Howman replies: "It's mostly tennis players criticising the WADA code. It seems as though they haven't quite understood it. Murray complained about the antidoping officials knocking on his door before 8 in the morning, but he himself had picked 7-8 as the time he'd be available for drug testing".

In my opinion, there really is no good reason to oppose this idea from Federer, unless you are afraid that your current performance enhancing drug use, which is  beating drug tests, will be detected sometime in the next 8 years when better testing is available. It might even discourage players from some types of doping (maybe I'm being naive).

In the end, victory is all that matters...

Janko is comin' on strong

Wickmayer weasels out of suspension

She actually missed three times on the whereabouts rule, so she should have been suspended. Another bad precedent by officials, that gives the green light for blowing off your doping tests and getting off with pathetic excuses like this:

The 20-year-old Wickmayer has said she had trouble with her password in the computerized system overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She also said registered mail at her home could not be signed off on since she was traveling to WTA tournaments.
She insisted she never missed an anti-doping test and her samples were always negative.

Right, and her dog ate her homework.

Soderling "Warned" for Missing Doping Test

As yet, I only have this Swedish language link for this story (Thanks Anonymous). I am told that it says that Soderling was "warned" for missing a doping test at the French Open. Apparently he switched hotels and "forgot" to tell testers. Let me make a couple of points about this:
1. Soderling did pretty darn well at the French, as I recall.
2. I think that there are going to be a lot more of these "innocent oversights" by players when they "forget" to tell drug testers their whereabouts. This is a common strategy that I have touched on here before in the post related to Victor Conte.
3. It appears that drug testers are getting more aggressive. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
4. The French Open was awhile ago, so it makes me wonder how many other athletes have had similar situations with similar "warnings". This is consistent with rumors about a popular player from Spain, so it will be interesting to see if that rumor (which I still doubt) pans out.

If anyone has an English version of this story, please send me the link or put it in the comments section.
Update: It appears that he is being given a "strike". You are allowed 3 in 18 months. To my knowledge, this and Wickmayer's are the first public notifications of someone getting a strike from the whereabouts rule. An English version of the story can be seen here (thanks Rikyu).

Here's Soderling's story and he's sticking to it:
“I had said I would stay at the Hilton but changed hotels and forgot to announce it,” Soderling said at this week’s If Stockholm Open. “I realized after a few days but it was too late because the doping inspectors had already searched for me for a test.”

Wickmayer rolls on without a care in the world

Wickmayer is in the finals, even though she faces a doping tribunal in less than a week. Why is she even allowed to play? Does she know something we don't?

Still Kind of Strong

Ivo Minar tests positive for a PED

Czech tennis player Ivo Minar was banned for eight months on Wednesday after testing positive for a banned substance following a Davis Cup match.
A sample taken after the Davis Cup quarterfinal against Argentina on July 11 contained the banned stimulant methylhexanamine, the International Tennis Federation said.

And, like all athletes who test positive for performance enhancing drugs, he tries to blame it on a supplement. Methylhexanamine is basically a speed. It was also recently implicated in a doping scandal involving several Jamaican track athletes this year.

Let me also note that this is my 300th post on this blog...

Another Death In Cycling

By pulmonary embolism. He has a long history of doping and it is likely this was caused by EPO or a similar drug.

Some Players Want Shorter Season

Nadal, not surprisingly, along with Roddick are the chief complainers. I actually see their point. It is a grueling season. However, I don't think it fits well with Nadal's other complaint about out-of-competition drug testing. There is far less out-of-competition drug testing than there is at tournaments and it gives players an extended off season to juice up. As the infamous Victor Conte notes, more offseason testing is the best way to catch juicers. You can't have it both ways. If you don't want to play as much, you should at least be available for drug testing during the downtime.

Update: Nadal seen here complaining about the long season:

Gratuituous Monfils Pic

Not too pumped

Overall, not that suspiciously muscular, although his right deltoid (shoulder) seems impressively pumped in this picture.

Also a little more pumped...

Not Less Pumped...

Some players seem to be trimming down, but others are still going strong...

Less Pumped?

She still has decent muscle tone, but it appears that Dinara is decidedly less pumped. Perhaps she has been using less of the "supplements" of late, which could explain her recent lack of success.

Update: An interesting non-sequitur regarding the history of EPO was put in the comments of this post (Thanks again, Anonymous).

Just So It's Not Forgotten

24 year old Mathieu Montcourt died in July and the story of his death seems to have died shortly after that. It remains a mystery to me why there has been little official word as to the cause of his death and why performance enhancing drugs haven't been suggested or investigated as a possible contributing factor. It is not common for a young man in prime physical condition to die in this way, unless of course we are talking about professional cyclists. To my knowledge, the results of toxicology screens have not been released, nor has it been indicated whether these screens checked for some of the more up-to-date performance enhancing drugs, including the EPO derivative CERA.
I still think it might be possible to get to the truth of this. Is there no sports journalist out there who deems this story worth investigating?

Wickmayer to face doping tribunal

Apparently, Yanina Wickmayer blew off the Whereabouts rule three times in the past 18 months. Perhaps drug testers are doing their job. I hope they will do the same if some of the bigger name players do the same. For the record, I would put her in definite "Phase 1" territory. (Thanks again, anonymous)

Update: Male player Xavier Malisse is also in the same boat. Interesting that it's two Belgian players at the same time. (thanks, Rikyu).
Update 2: I should point out, in fairness, that Malisse doesn't look particularly pumped.

For Not So Old Time's Sake

I get a lot of requests for pics/opinions regarding Jennifer Capriati. I don't like to spend a lot of time on retired players, since there is no hope of catching them at this point, but above are a few choice pics. Enjoy.

Federer on Doping

Okay, I begrudgingly, temporarily suspend my boycott of "Talk Tennis" to link to a translation of a recent Roger Federer interview someone posted, where he discusses doping. I do this not only to highlight that even the best player in the world thinks that there is a doping problem in tennis, but also to dispute Rafael Nadal’s claim recently that there was “unanimous” opposition among players to unannounced, out-of-competition testing. (Thanks again, anonymous and here is the original interview in Italian):

Doping even attacks tennis?

I’d like a sport without doping, but it’s an illusion. There’s so much money involved, this pushes people to take drugs. I am convinced that doping doesn’t help tennis. Only a minority think differently. We can be submitted to checks at any moment and I believe that it’s the right thing to do. I prefer to know that I am playing against a clean opponent. Unfortunately it’s not always so.

Let me ask the question again:  If you are not doping, why would you be against testing that would catch dopers?

Update: Here is a link to the interview on YouTube (which was apparently for Italian television, but was done in English). The Doping stuff starts at about the 8:40 mark.

Eggcellent

Still Strong

As I've said before, if some of the Chinese players break through and start winning the bigger events, we'll see a bunch of very serious sportswriters suddenly interested in PED's in tennis.

Other benefits of such a schedule...

Clijsters is limiting her schedule for next year to the 4 big ones and the minimum required beyond that. She cites spending time with her family as the reason. While I can't doubt the importance of that, let it also be noted that it would limit the amount of drug testing a player is subject to, since most of the testing occurs at tournaments.

Gasquet Tries to Sue to "Clear His Name"

This is a common trend when being caught in a drug test - blame it on someone or something else (Supplements, a girl's kiss, etc.), then come out with a lawsuit. It's not enough to leave it alone and feel lucky you got away with it. Grow up, Gasquet.

An Interesting Experiment

A commenter (thanks once again, Anonymous!), pointed me to this story from Outside Magazine. It's from 2003 and somehow I hadn't come across it before. The premise is that the guy took various performing enhancing drugs (HGH, EPO, Steroids) just to see what would happen and to write about it. The short of it is that he makes big gains in stamina, workout recovery and strength. He also notes that he gained 12 pound of muscle without doing any weightlifting (which reminded me of a story I linked to here previously).

One blurb from the story highlights the reason I started this blog in the first place:

"As for the larger issue of drugs in sports, eight months in the world of the artificially enhanced convinced me more than ever that it's critical for an organization like the World Anti-Doping Agency to succeed. This group, founded after the Salt Lake Olympics by Canadian anti-doping leader Dick Pound, represents the most serious international attempt to come to grips with sports doping. WADA is the logical response to an argument that gets aired from time to time: that since cheating is impossible to eliminate, the only recourse is to simply legalize everything—that way, no athlete has a hidden advantage over another, since everyone would be free to try anything that might increase endurance.

Like a lot of powerfully bad ideas, that one has a certain mad logic. But it would turn every sport into a test of how much damage an athlete was willing to risk to improve performance, and would basically force every serious athlete to cheat and risk his or her health. Athletic contests would have a strange life-or-death quality. If we don't keep drugs out of these events, they become freak shows, the athletes like gladiators—with us playing the role of decadent Romans, urging them on."

Henin Back...

Should be interesting to see how she does. I never thought that she looked like a steroid user, although the father of one of her rivals made that accusation a few years ago. Personally, Clijsters looks more likely than Henin if I had to choose on that score.

Olé!

Rafa's amazing workout routine

This is one of the most uninspired workouts I've seen (thanks Anonymous). It reminds me of guys who show up at the gym in January for their one workout after their New Year's resolution. That is not a muscle building workout and, frankly, he looked like he was doing many of those exercise routines for the first time, anyway. Can someone who speaks better Spanish than I do translate what Rafa says at the end there?

Off Season...

No good pics. No positive drug test announcements. I got nothing. Has Serena Williams' biography come out yet?

Update:

Word Spreads

I notice that when any blog mentions tennis and steroids anymore, someone is kind enough to link to this site.

U.S. Open Collage

I haven't posted any pics for awhile. Imagine that! Here are a few from the U.S. Open

Rafa Slimmed Down?

The consensus in the comments it that Rafa has slimmed down. I would agree, although it is a bit tricky to gauge without the sleeveless look for comparison. Why he is slimmer remains a question. Did he need to cut back on the "supplements"? Did his recent inactivity have something to do with it? Did he choose to slim down for reasons of stamina? Is it just the new shirt style making him look thinner? I presume he will take another long break to "recover" from his injuries, so it will be interesting to see where he is at when he returns.

Losin' Ugly

Did I just observe a little bit of 'roid rage from one of the young ladies in the semifinal?

New York Times has piece on doping in tennis

I hope it isn't grandiose of me to think that this article and the Slate article from a few months ago (which it also links), would not have happened without this website.

Here's one excerpt:
David Howman, the director general of WADA, praised tennis’s program, although he said the federation could test more often for EPO, a blood-boosting drug that is said to increase endurance. “Tennis conducts a very good antidoping program,” he said.

Update: I want to thank all the contributors to this site, named and unnamed for their help in making this site a bit more credible and respectable. I think it's fair to say that this is the first place to stop for anyone curious about the subject of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in the sport of tennis. This, of course, will always be a just a blog, but it looks like it is helping to get the subject out in the open (no pun intended).

Can't Resist

Any predictions on today's "Big" match?  

Update:

Alright, I'm ready for my comeback.  I'm going to limit myself to one or two posts a week, though, just enough to keep the blog current.  Let me kick things off by saying,  as I said 2 months back, when Nadal was being written off due to his knee "injury":

Anyone that doubts that Nadal will be pumped and ready for the U.S. Open as if he was never really injured, isn't with the program. Pay attention!

 It's actually been fun watching the tennis without having to focus on the steroid issue.  I find myself cheering for a lot of the players that I most suspect.  Hopefully, I can stay objective.

Time for a Break

I decided to drop two recent posts, because I felt like I was crossing a line. I think that I have taken this about as far as a blogger sitting at home on his computer can take it. Thanks to everyone who has helped me out and educated me on this subject. If you think that I made my point (you know, the title of the blog) I thank you. If you disagree, I also thank you. I can't rule out hopping back on here in the future, but for now I'd like to leave it alone and just keep it here as it is. Enjoy the U.S. Open, everyone!

Role Model...

Lookin' Strong

Say it ain't so...

Someone sent me this pic of Federer looking surprisingly pumped. His tricep is not impressive, but that appears to be some more bulk on the deltoid than usual. Anyone know where and when this was taken?

New Training Methods and Nutrition?

I keep getting commenters who argue that players are more muscular today than in the past because of some advanced training methods and nutrition. I spent a good deal of time in various gyms in the 1980's and took all the nutritional drinks and followed some of the nutritional recommendations of the time. When I go to the gym today, the weight machines and free weights don't seem any different, the exercise machines have a lot of digital bells and whistles, but don't give any more of a workout than an old schwinn exercise bike I used to have in my basement, the workout routines are not much different, save for the silly, large rubber balls and the nutritional supplements (the legal ones), although more plentiful, seem to contain the same basic stuff. Is there some kind of fancy sports diet that I am in the dark about? Are these new training methods just so top secret that I can't be told about them?

Igor appears to be moving up a phase

Murray whines about drug testing

Poor Andy was awoken by rude drug testers and complains. (Thanks to Heidi for the link). May I ask Andy Murray a couple of questions: If you didn't have this drug testing and you truly are clean, what is to stop some other players from juicing up and stealing your place? Are you counting on the integrity of other players when millions of dollars are being waved in front of them?

And Nadal puts in his usual two cents:
Spain's Rafael Nadal has also had plenty to say on the subject.
He said: "I think it shows a lack of respect for privacy. I think it’s a disgrace. These are things that completely have to change, and there is a unanimous voice on that in the locker room. It is an intolerable hunt."

By the way, is it truly a "unanimous voice" on that? Last I heard, some players were in favor.


Update: I was stewing about this article even more while taking my dogs for a walk. What self-entitled little punks these guys are. They are making tens of millions of dollars and complaining about having to get up at 7:15 one day? Well, join the rest of the world Andy and Rafa. And you think it's unfair that there is more scrutiny on you than "journeymen" players? Gee, let me break out my violin. All of this whining and we find out that they were tested twice over the course of a year out of competition (and allowed to refuse two or three tests without penalty). Go get a real job if this is so "intolerable." I guarantee you will crawl on broken glass to get your tennis gig back after two weeks of working at a Wal-Mart for minimum wage.

Update 2: As a couple of commenters have pointed out, Murray presumably chose 7:15 as the most convenient time to be tested, so it's even more insincere for him to whine about it. Make it 9:00 AM if you don't want it to interfere with your beauty sleep.

Off topic

A couple of pics from my sailing trip. I admit to taking a performance enhancing drug (Dramamine).


This is the Becher's Bay anchorage on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands off the coast of California. I wish that was our boat.


A couple of dolphins broke off from a pack of about 25 to play along the side of our boat.

Minar tests positive

Ivo Minar tests positive for pseudoephedrine. That is basically a speed that is found in over-the-counter cold medicines (and is also used to make methamphetamine). The guy doesn't look juiced enough for me to even bother with a picture. He is, of course, denying it with the I have never "knowingly" taken a performance enhancing drug line. This is basically a set-up to blame the whole thing on a nutritional supplement. At what point will that excuse be ignored? Any professional athlete by now knows that nutritional supplements might contain banned ingredients. Therefore if any professional tennis player is taking a nutritional supplement, he/she either knows that it has a banned supplement in it, or they are keeping it close at hand in order to pull it out in the event of a positive drug test so that they can blame the positive test on the supplement. In any case, it's silly to see these lower tier players get caught, while the big guns keep firing away.
Pseudoephedrine could certainly help performance, but it is surprising that players would take this, since it is basically a game-time drug and if they are drug tested afterwards, they are screwed. Kuznetsova also got caught with this in her system, but they let it go because her match was an exhibition match and she blamed it on a cold.
Update: Someone posted an interview with the ATP CEO after the Kuznetsova incident in '05. Note how quickly the CEO comes to the defense of Kuznetsova and vilifies the Belgian official who released the information. It would appear that they weren't expecting the Belgians to do drug testing for a charity event and they were quite angry at them.

I'm back

Gone Sailin'

Back in a couple of days (I hope).

Goodnight Sam

A Question...

Anyone know whether any of the top female players wear braces?

A Bolt of Denial

I know this is not a tennis story, per se, but it is probably a steroid story. It seems people want to believe that a rather muscular sprinter on a team full of rather muscular sprinters who represent a country that is inexplicably dominating men's and women's sprints and who have recently had a doping scandal amongst some of its sprinters, is somehow clean and running an inexplicable 9.58 in the 100 Meters. Television sportscasters are ignoring the obvious and building this guy up just as they did Marion Jones and the baseball sluggers and a host of other athletes. It should be obvious to even the most ignorant sports journalists (is that redundant?) that something is very fishy about this. It is very hard for me to understand how they can simply bury their heads in the sand. These people have millions to spend reporting sports. Put some of that money into an actual investigation and expose this.
Eventually, he is going to be caught. When it happens, watch these same sports journalists (along with fans) turn on this guy that they have built up as some kind of Superman.

Add Kleybanova to an unusual trend...

Clijsters, Bartoli, Kanepi, Groenefeld (Am I forgetting any?). More power to this selection of larger women who are somehow competing at the top levels of tennis, but it certainly seems odd to me and doesn't fit my understanding of what it takes to be a top tennis professional. It would seem that this kind of size would be too much of a hindrance in terms of stamina and speed to be overcome by a little extra power. Do I suspect PED's? Yes. Am I open to alternate explanations? Fire away...

From any angle...

...same conclusion.

Facetious Argument Alert

I can't believe these sportscasters would dare accuse Semenya. She says she is a woman and clean and there should be no one arguing against that JUST BASED ON HER APPEARENCE. That is just so unfair as I have been told so many times here. Don't you agree?

Just to reinforce the obvious

Goldfish Might not Remember

I was hanging out in a sports bar after a couple of beers and there is Rafael Nadal on the screen running around like a mad man. It's like he never had knee problems (and frankly, that's my contention).

Not this time...

Phase I no match for Phase IV

The ESPN Piece on the Decline of Tennis in America

ESPN put out a two part piece on the decline of U.S. tennis of late. I think that tennis has always been a second tier sport in the U.S. in terms of popularity. It occasionally gets more popular when there are interesting players (mostly if they are Americans), but it is never going to reach the level of football, baseball, or even golf. The fact that there are more players from other countries in the top 100 and not many top Americans is part of the reason, but then you get into a chicken and egg argument. I can't speak for others but I think that the game is generally less interesting to watch these days, because there is so much reliance on power and raw athleticism. More and more it reminds me of the feeling I get watching a game of racquetball. It's fast, the points are over quickly and it's hard to get too excited about the volleys.
Obviously, racquet technology has contributed to this, but (you knew this was coming) I think that steroids have as well. Also, to my naked eye, not as many American players seem juiced up. If that is the case, I don't know the reason for that. It seems like there is an endless supply of somewhat ubiquitous Eastern European players coming into the game, with just a little more muscle than you might expect. Perhaps it is easier to get away with testing in other countries or perhaps it is more accepted as a necessary part of the game there, or perhaps I am mistaken and there are just better weight training programs there (although I find that unlikely). Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of American players who I suspect of steroid use, but I'm wondering if overall there is less of a culture of steroid use available to players here - at least in tennis...
If that is accurate and there is no way to stop the use of steroids then, sadly, the only way that more Americans will be able to compete at a higher level is to use more 'roids.

Inch by inch

Murray seems to be getting a little bit bigger each tournament. Soon, it will be hard to refer to him as "skinny" anymore.

Day off for dopers

Rest easy, THASP has front row seats for a concert tonight by an old favorite.

Monfils Looking Strong But Not Winning...

Links

Someone wrote requesting to be on my blog roll and I realized that I didn't have one.  I'm happy to add a link to anyone's personal sites related to tennis or any you might recommend for this site (except for Talk Tennis - the pompous, elitist chumps who are currently banned from my website).

Chocolate and Cola...

"Jankovic moved up to No. 1 last August, held the top spot for a total of 18 weeks, then went about revamping her game in the offseason. She put on 15 pounds of muscle, looking for more power.
When she got back on the court, she felt slow and stiff. She faded out of the top group. She was distracted when her mother, Snezana, became ill and needed surgery. The rock-bottom moment came at Wimbledon, where 17-year-old qualifier Melanie Oudin upset her in the third round.
She took a month off to help her mother get through surgery and overhaul her approach to tennis. She cut chocolate and cola from her diet. She went back to playing her style from '08."

These stories... Are we to believe that she put on 15 pounds of muscle naturally, then lost it, but is still muscular?

Jelena Jankovic - After losing 15 pounds of muscle by cutting chocolate and cola

Phase Zero

I suppose I should add a Phase Zero for players who show no physical indication of being on steroids. For men, the obvious is Roger Federer:




Here's an old pic of Chris Evert, a Phase Zero from the old days. Now, of course, there is more weightlifting these days for players and you could raise the threshold for a Phase Zero a bit.












More importantly, though, I should point out that Phase Zero doesn't disprove steroids. Two players who tested positive for steroids were still definitely in the Phase Zero Camp. Sesil Karatantcheva and Petr Korda. I think this goes along with the fact that it seems to take awhile before steroid use shows, especially if the player isn't doing much weightlifting. Had they gotten away with it for a few years, I imagine that both these players would have moved up a phase or two. But it also shows that you can't always tell a book by its cover.

Tennis Balls

"I still think that we shouldn't be changing tennis balls midsummer," Roddick said. "That's just, you know, at the height of not using common sense." Before Roddick traveled here [to Montreal], he played at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington. There, the players used Wilson brand tennis balls. Here, they use Penn. While non-professionals may find that complaint trivial, Roddick and some of his fellow pros have long felt it makes a significant difference in their play.

I admit to a great deal of ignorance about this issue (and so many others, as a few commenters like to remind me). Generally, anything that breaks up the "consistency" could make things more interesting, as I see it. I'm wondering also whether a particular ball brand or design might be advantageous for a power player and whether a different type of ball could slow things down and give less of an advantage for the, shall we say, "pumped up" players.

Great News...

"After two months out of competition it's tough to play at that level -- I needed to concentrate more than usual," Nadal said. "The knees were very good.”

Can someone please direct me to Nadal's doctor?

Jelena

Call 'em as I see 'em

I'd like to believe in this comeback and I hope I'm wrong, but she just looks Phase II to me. I'm trying not to be swayed by her rather surprising early success, which I admit adds to my suspicion.

BAM!

Phase I takes out Phase IV

Retracting my Retraction

A reader had almost shamed me into dropping Venus from the Phase III category, arguing that I was blinded by the fact that her sister is Serena. I was almost convinced, but it's hard to get around the fact that in the pic above she is sporting a Phase III deltoid.

Reaching...

For Phase III
Better luck in the Open

What is he on?

While this unretouched photo doesn't accentuate the physique of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (borderline Phase II), I have to ask what the heck happened to his left arm? A partially invisible arm isn't going to help a tennis player too much, but if he is able to make himself entirely invisible, he will have a very unfair advantage over the other players (unless they also make themselves invisible, which would make for an interesting game of tennis).

Update: A reader notes the shadow still showing his left arm. Spooky...

The New Four Phase Rating System

Sorry if this comes off a bit corny, but I feel like I need to defend myself too often when posting pics on here, so I've decided to come up with a ratings system in order to be more clear about my suspicions. Any kind of rating system of this nature is rather arbitrary and subjective, but I think it can at least make it clear where I'm at with players. So I'll use a four phase system as follows:

Phase I: The player seems to have a bit more muscle than you might expect from a tennis player. This could be from steroid use, but it could easily be explained by some extra time in the weight room or good genetics.
Phase II: The player seems unusually muscular and steroids are beginning to be a likely explanation. It still might be a case of hitting the gym hard or good genetics, but I am definitely leaning towards steroid use.
Phase III: The player looks like they are probably using steroids. It's not inconceivable that they have developed their physique through natural methods and genetics, but it just seems very unlikely.
Phase IV: The player's physique would be very difficult if not impossible to explain by anything other than steroids. Only a diehard fan or a sportswriter with a complete lack of integrity, a total sellout, would claim that this player was clean.

I hope this is helpful. I'll try to put a few examples up to delineate between the phases.
Here's a couple of Phase I female players:


(Actually, more recent pictures of Errani are putting her near the Phase II level)















Phase I is trickier for male players, because some men are fairly muscular to begin with. Here a couple in my opinion:


I'd say that Igor is pushing into Phase II territory.














Phase II Women













Phase II Men













Phase III Women:


I'd also put Jelena Jankovic in the Phase III category, although I think she was actually pushing Phase IV for awhile and trimmed down.










Phase III Men:
I'm finding this a to be a tough category. I'll just put this guy in although he is more of a II - III tweener:



The Phase IV players need little introduction for anyone who reads this blog. Currently, I put Nadal and Monfils in the Phase IV category for men and Serena, Sam Stosur, Safina and Dementieva for women.

Dementieva to Start my Evening

Yes, I've seen women with muscles like this... It's just that they all seem to be playing professional tennis.

A fair point...

A reader sends me a picture of his own arm to make the point that his veins are quite prominent and he is not on steroids. I think that is a valid point. Some people do tend show more vein or have more definition than others. And often, the arguments made to refute that someone is on 'roids are along the lines of "I've seen someone like that - it's not unusual." The problem is that too many players seem to be "anomalies." There are too many "naturally" muscular or vein-enhanced or bulked up players to be believed. Beyond that, some of the women are past even the anomaly category. There just aren't women who look like that without steroids. Again, if you just had one player like that, you might let it go, but their numbers seem to be on the rise. Taken as whole, I think we are past the point where you could argue against against a steroid problem in tennis, but of course it is tricky when you focus on any one player to the exclusion of the rest.

Any Opinions?

I think we can put that rumor to bed

As pumped as ever and ready to go. Even playing doubles...

And these are just the losers

Maybe it would be more politically correct to say the "non-winners".
Truth be told, I'm just holding out for a better pic of Groenefeld. There is massive potential there, but today's selection was weak.

Kanepi not quite strong enough

But still pic-worthy.

Losing Late In the Year Nothing New For Nadal

A reader of the blog sends in an interesting summary of Nadal's later in the year performance over the past few years. The implication being that he seems to fizzle by August. Perhaps he is taking fewer nutritional supplements by that time. (Thanks jssthx):

Something that has always seemed suspicious to me is that Nadal always goes on a tear in the spring and early summer, but by August, he always seems pretty ordinary. Maybe that's when he stops

Consider his post-Wimbledon record from 2006 Present:

2006:
Masters Canada: lost on 3rd round to Berdych
Cincinatti Masters: lost in quarters to Ferrero
US Open: lost in quarters to Youzhny
Stockholm: lost in 2nd round to J. Johansson
Madrid Masters lost in quarters to Berdych
Masters Cup: lost in round robin to Blake
Masters Cup: lost in semis to Federer

2007:
Stuttgart (July) won
Canadian Masters: lost in semis to Djokovic
Cincinatti Masters: lost in 2nd round to Monaco
US Open: lost in 4th round to Ferrer
Masters Madrid: lost in quarters to Nalbandian
Paris Masters: lost in final to Nalbandian
Masters Cup: lost in round robin to Ferrer
Masters Cup: lost in semis to Federer

2008:
Canadian Masters (late July) won
Cincinatti Masters lost in semis to Djokovic
Olympics: (mid August) won
US Open: lost in semis to Murray
Masters Madrid: lost in semis to Simon
Paris Masters: lost in semis to Davydenko
Masters Cup: did not play (injury)

One More For the Road

Although she didn't win, how can I resist a shot like this?
I have to believe that, at some point, tennis officials are going to reach their maximum level of shame and do something about this, but their capacity for it seems boundless.

Another Young Athlete Dies Suddenly

Soccer player and Espanyol team captain Daniel Jarque has died of heart failure at age 26.

I think it's worth noting this so soon after Montcourt's death. It is not unheard of for professional athletes to die suddenly, but one would expect some explanation. Again, it's hard to evaluate when they use laymen's terms for the cause of death. While there are relationships between - "heart attack," "heart failure", and "cardiac arrest," they are actually 3 distinct terms. In both of these cases I would imagine the actual cause of death would be cardiac arrest (the heart stops beating properly and doesn't pump blood to the body).
There have been some cases related to cocaine use (like the great college basketball player Len Bias) and to a congenital defect of the heart (like "Pistol" Pete Maravich), but Montcourt's drug screen was reportedly negative and no report of a heart defect was noted to my knowledge. There are also some defects in heart conduction that can lead to a cardiac arrest, but I would expect those to be noted on an EKG and I would assume that athletes of this caliber have had EKG's at some point.

Where I'm going with this is that I hope that an investigation and a screen for other substances that might not be picked up in a regular drug screen are performed. It may be that this is just a coincidence, but I think it should be ruled out whether there are some potentially dangerous PED's out there.

If Stosur Wins...

Will anyone at the post-match press conference ask the obvious question?

Sharapova Getting Stronger?

Admittedly, this pic is not going to shock. I'm just noticing a little extra muscle these days and I wouldn't want it to go unmentioned.

Flavia is Still Going Strong

Roddick Recovers from Injury and Looks Strong...

I suspect many of the other players with recent injuries preventing them from entering certain tournaments will be pumped and ready for the U.S. Open: Nadal, Kuznetsova, Monfils, Verdasco... Am I forgetting anyone?

Tough break for Zheng Jie

She took out Safina and almost Stosur, but isn't quite there yet. (and, I'll say, isn't particularly pic-worthy, yet). It will be interesting when a few Chinese players with even the slightest hint of muscle start winning slams, which I imagine is inevitable. All the journalists who have been sitting on their hands for the last 10 years will be crying steroids bloody murder!

(Very) Cheesy 80's Video Makes a Point...

This was the World Champion female bodybuilder before steroids came on the scene. I recall her going on talk shows and people being shocked at how muscular she was. How many of the top female tennis players put her to shame? Is there something in the water?
(Bonus appearance by Arnold)

An Open Note to NBA Commissioner David Stern

Dear David,
Clean up the NBA, because it has a huge steroid problem and as soon as I've fully exposed the tennis steroid problem, I'm coming after you. You have been warned.
Love,
THASP (or BHASP)

Nadal Peek

Nadal is back on the horizon. You can't see too much with his new sleeved shirts (This look is really thwarting my efforts to get good pics of the men players, if it keeps up, I'm going to take it personally). From what I can see, he looks as pumped as usual. If I had to create an alternate explanation for his recent absence (meaning something other than the dubious tendinitis claim), I'd say that he probably had to lay off the supplements for awhile, because he skipped an out-of-competition test or two (you are only allowed 3 in 18 months I believe, and God knows he has been complaining about them this year), played the French as the supplements were were losing their effect and now is back and ready with new vitamin supplements on board. That is, of course, just my opinion. I have no proof one way or another. It is just conjecture on my part. I should be ashamed of myself for even suggesting it. Good luck, Rafa!

ITF Appeals Doping Ruling on Gasquet

I bring this up for a couple of reasons. First, to correct the fact that I thought that it was the ITF that let him off in the first place, but second - to ask why the ITF is so focused on whether some guy snorted a little cocaine when he wasn't even playing a tournament, while you have players that look like Sam Stosur mocking your organization every time they come out to play?

Play it again, Sam

I know, it's kind of like cheating to put up another Stosur pic, but how can I resist.

The Big Kids Are Back In Town

Looks ready for a big win

Strong Start

Most of the male players are covered up well, a frustrating predicament. However, Juan is sporting the science-project-gone-wrong look.

A Lot of Almosts...

I am trolling for good pics and  a few have caught my eye, but they didn't quite cross my imaginary PED line.  

Update:  Well, there's always Stosur... but that's just too easy.

Nadal in for Montreal

Should be interesting:

"Rafa will play in Montreal. It is good news for us," Toni Nadal told Radio Marca.
"It's another thing to know what standard he will be at. I imagine he won't be in very good condition. He has been training but without really pushing it very much. To see what form he's in we'll have to see how he copes in a proper match," he said.


On another note, steroids or not, the whole "Uncle Toni" svengali thing is a little weird.  

Puzzle

Well, I of course suspect PED's, but I've had some catcalls for saying this based on her lack of definition. She is rather big, though, so the definition might be a bit hidden. And, hey, she just beat Venus, Stosur and Jelena in succession. So, if you disagree, explain that ...

Montcourt Down the Memory Hole

I've seen no updates related to the death of Mathieu Montcourt since this one, 3 days after his death.I am assuming that there is an end to any kind of investigation.  I think that is unfortunate.  The original preliminary cause of death was a pulmonary embolism, but was quickly changed to cardiac arrest.  This  story says "heart attack."  A heart attack and a cardiac arrest are not the same thing.  It may be just a miscommunication, since those two terms are sometimes confused by people and a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest, but it would be very unusual for a 24 year old to have a heart attack, particularly a professional athlete.  In any case, a heart attack generally does not kill someone instantly.  Cardiac arrest (stopping of the heart) is not unheard of among professional athletes ("Pistol" Pete Maravich), but you would expect some sort of explanation for why the heart stopped.  Presumably, he had had numerous EKG's, so there was no conduction issue.  If he had a problem with his heart, that would have been seen on autopsy.  The other issue concerns toxicology tests.  In this case, there would be many possible things to check that you might not check on a standard autopsy (yes, related to PED's).  I could be wrong and this is just a routine death of a 24 year old professional athlete, but is there really such a thing?

From a Player's mouth in 2003

This is from Andrew Ilie in 2003. (Thanks Vincent):

Ilie, who was knocked out of the Australian Open on Tuesday, said the problem of drug-taking in the sport had reached dangerous levels.
He said he had never used or been offered performance-enhancing drugs, but others felt the pressure to perform.
"The problem is so bad that you might as well just let them use it and when players see people dying on court and exploding, then it's going to change their minds," Ilie told the Herald Sun newspaper.
"The sport has become so competitive and powerful it is just a matter of fitness and who will outlast who out there," he said.
"People are just happy to sacrifice their health for three years of fame."

How did she do it?

Okay, I can only dip into the Stosur well so many times, but when she takes out Serena...

Update:

Even though she is not quite as cut as she has been in the past, her bicep is bigger than I've ever seen it. Quite an accomplishment for Stosur.

Conte Speaks

This is information provided by the infamous Victor Conte in response to a request from a hearing for Dwain Chambers, the British sprinter who tested positive for doping. It is from last year and I hadn't seen it before (thanks anonymous). It describes in (rather shocking) detail the extent of the performance enhancing drugs he used, including steroids, EPO, thyroid hormones, speeders, and other drugs in a very meticulous and almost scientific fashion. It’s a great read and Conte also generalizes it to other sports and how athletes beat drug tests, an excerpt below:

Many drug-tested athletes use what I call the "duck and dodge" technique. Several journalists in the UK have recently referred to it as the "duck and dive" technique. This is basically how it works.
First, the athlete repeatedly calls their own cell phone until the message capacity is full. This way the athlete can claim to the testers that they didn't get a message when they finally decide to make themselves available. Secondly, they provide incorrect information on their whereabouts form. They say they are going to one place and then go to another. Thereafter, they start using testosterone, growth hormone and other drugs for a short cycle of two to three weeks.
After the athlete discontinues using the drugs for a few days and they know that they will test clean, they become available and resume training at their regular facility (THASP Note- At least until last year, tennis players could miss 3 tests in 18 months).
Most athletes are tested approximately two times each year on a random out-of -competition basis. If a tester shows up and the athlete is not where they are supposed to be, then the athlete will receive a "missed test". This is the equivalent to receiving "strike one" when up to bat in a baseball game. The current anti-doping rules allow an athlete to have two missed tests in any given eighteen-month period without a penalty or consequence. So, the disadvantage for an athlete having a missed test is that they have one strike against them. The advantage of that missed test is the athlete has now received the benefit of a cycle of steroids. Long story short, an athlete can continue to duck and dive until they have two missed tests, which basically means that they can continue to use drugs until that time.
In summary, it's my opinion that more than fifty percent of the drug tests performed each year should be during the off season or the fourth quarter. This is when the track athletes are duckin' and divin' and using anabolic steroids and other drugs. Let me provide some rather startling information for your consideration. If you check the testing statistics on the USADA website, you will find that the number of out-of-competition drug tests performed during each quarter of 2007 are as follows: in the first quarter there were 1208, second quarter 1295, third quarter 1141 and in the fourth quarter there were only 642.
In late 2003 I advised USADA about the importance of random testing during the fourth quarter of the year. They did initially seem to follow my advice because they increased the number of fourth-quarter tests in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
However, they failed to continue this practice in 2007. Why would USADA decide to perform only 15% of their annual out-of-competition tests during the fourth quarter? Let's not forget that this is the off season before the upcoming summer Olympic Games. This is equivalent to a fisherman knowing that the fish are ready to bite and then consciously deciding that it is time to reel in his line and hook, lean his fishing pole up against a tree and take a nap.

Dementieva Looking Strong for US Open

Actually, she looks slightly toned down to my eyes.

Paszek's Treatment

A reader sends me a recent link to a story about a treatment resembling the one Paszek claims to have received. I haven't heard of this and, while I personally think this treatment is a bit dubious, it appears to be out there as an alternative therapy, so that gives credence to her story and quells my suspicions, a bit.

Well, I'm not above rumors...

A few people have sent me photographs of Rafael Nadal lately, purporting to show that he is losing his pumped-up physique and doing things like golfing, jumping off a boat and possibly playing soccer. The double suggestion is that he's off steroids, and is exaggerating his injury. This would be consistent with rumors that he had a positive drug test and has been laying off the juice, while negotiating with tennis officials. While I'm always hoping for a smoking gun, I have some doubts about these rumors. None of the pics really get a good angle on his physique and they mostly show his right, less impressive arm, so I think the jury is still out on his current level of pumpitude.
Also, I know he is a marquee player, but I find it hard to believe that they could keep a positive drug test a secret for that long while hanging Gasquet and Paszek out to dry. If, in fact, he was juicing and now stopped juicing, I can’t imagine that he would then enter a Slam. That would be like Marion Jones’ comeback attempt – futile. Stranger things have happened and we’ll find out soon enough, but I say he either comes to the U.S. Open looking very pumped up or he doesn’t compete at all.

Nothing?

"I've seen nothing to refute the claim that tennis is by and large clean, and well-policed..."
- Visually impaired ESPN "journalist," Peter Bodo

Some Stories Seem to Just Disappear

The death of Mathieu Montcourt and doping story about Tamira Paszek just appeared for a day or two, with almost no follow up, then seemed to disappear. A professional athlete drops dead at the age of 24. Is my curiosity just morbid?

Robbie Ginepri is coming on strong

Igor appears to be using Jamaican "training methods"

Jamaica's Training Methods Revealed

It was just a matter of time before this obfuscation (to borrow a word from Peter Bodo) started to unravel.  And, contrary to the article's claim, I think that 2 members of the 400 meter relay team should be considered "top sprinters."  Anyone still believe that Bolt is clean?:

Herb Elliott of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission told Radio Jamaica that four men and one woman have been informed of the results and will have an opportunity to contest them at a hearing. They tested positive at last month's national championships and all of them were chosen for the 46-member team representing Jamaica at next month's world championships in Berlin, Elliott said.The Jamaica Observer, citing unidentified sources, first reported the positive tests and said they did not include any of the top sprinters. The newspaper reported there were two members of the men's 400-meter relay team, two on the men's 1,600-meter relay and a female runner in the 1,600 relay.

More of Bodo's Greatest Hit Pieces (Back when hit pieces were cool)

This from 2005.  Sounds like something out of THASP.  Maybe there's a job for me at Tennis World.  Take it away, Peter:

"Well, call me a closed-minded bigot--my gut feeling is that doping is an entrenched, illicit activity, and its practitioners know how to use every possible masking agent and tool of obfuscation in order to cast doubt on positive results, confuse the public and press, and generate sympathy for the poor “victims” of anti-doping rules. They know how to use the highly scientific, complicated, and obscure protocols, rules, and definitions of the anti-doping effort in their own favor.

 I hate to be the heavy here, but does it occur to anyone else that Puerta and his crew simply knew--or figured out--that they had a pretty good fallback position on a potential doping charge if they got Mariano’s wife on some form of medication that could then be blamed for a potential positive result?

It seems to me that dopers are using a different kind of masking agent now--a public relations and spin-based one."

That Point of Frustration...

Time for a rant:
When I set up this blog, I really thought that showing pictures of many of the unnaturally muscular, top players, would be an "Emperor has no clothes" moment. That certainly was not the case. I underestimated the level of denial of many tennis fans. Well, tennis fans are one thing, but the journalists who cover the sport are another matter entirely. First, you have the former players, who must know better than anyone that this problem has existed for years. Then you have sportswriters like Peter Bodo, who deny the problem and then compare performance enhancing drugs to good nutrition. Any excuse is accepted as plausible: "They must have put steroids in my sports supplement," "I was using that stimulant for my asthma," "I needed my blood enriched for my back problem," "I kissed a contaminated girl on the lips."
Tennis players whine about "invasive" drug testing and the sportswriters nod in agreement. Tennis players pull out of tournaments with phantom injuries, then are magically healed for the next tournament and no one questions this behavior. Drug testing is said to be stringent, then we find out it is filled with loopholes.
I have to ask if there will ever be an "Emperor has no clothes" moment? It has happened in track and baseball and cycling, so it seems inevitable, but I wonder whether tennis will be different. Maybe fans have just grown tired of these drug scandals and no longer want to hear about it. Maybe there is a certain elitism about tennis that shields it from the kind of investigation needed to expose the scandal.  Maybe it's just all the money.  I don't really know, but I am frustrated.  Peter Bodo's piece is a proverbial "line in the sand" from the powers that be in the tennis world.  They just aren't going to go there unless they are dragged kicking and screaming.  I suppose that's what I'm going to try and do, but I wish it didn't have to be that way.

Tamira Paszek

The stories I've read about this doping case paint it as inadvertent, while she was receiving treatment for a chronic back problem.  I'm willing to be proven wrong, but (not surprisingly), I'm a bit skeptical.  I'm not an orthopedic surgeon, but I do have some medical training and I'm not familiar with a "blood enrichment" treatment for back problems, nor do I understand how such a treatment would work.  I am, however, familiar with a blood enrichment program for high level athletes, including tennis players, that was exposed in what is known as Operacion Puerto.  If anyone can direct me to a link regarding blood enrichment for the treatment of back problems or any other physical problem not directly related to blood loss, I'd appreciate it.

Update: The story isn't even mentioned on the ESPN or Sport Illustrated websites.

Dueling Pete Bodos

Alternate title: The Evolution of Peter Bodo - A living example of the ending of Orwell's Animal Farm
Alternate title 2: What happened to Peter's Principles?

Now, Mr. Bodo, I believe you have some 'splainin' to do...:

Peter 2006
First of all, at this site I am a blogger—an opinion journalist and commentator. I have neither the mandate nor the responsibility to deal strictly and exclusively with facts and/or the thoughts or opinions of others about those facts.
Peter 2009
including that recent Slate piece, which was the usual hit job filled with nothing more than innuendo and the author's prejudiced speculations

Peter 2006
But what are you going to do? Allow doping? Talk the talk, but look the other way as soon as there’s even a hint of a problem (as I believe the ATP and WTA have done for years)?
Peter 2009
… I've seen nothing to refute the claim that tennis is by and large clean, and well-policed

Peter 2006
Trust me: Doping is a burning, omnipresent topic on the pro tour these days. I owe it to you to tackle it, and I am proud that as a blogger I can do that in a way that a newspaper reporter cannot.__
Peter 2009
…that recent Slate piece, which was the usual hit job filled with nothing more than innuendo and the author's prejudiced speculations

Peter 2006
It's a different landscape now. You can read why and how this came about at this page of the ITF’s anti-doping website. __Is it mere coincidence that we’ve had a sudden explosion of positive tests? Why have the increasingly puzzling scheduling habits of so many players suddenly become front-burner issues? Draw back and look at this in perspective; it seems to me that we’re in the midst of an undeclared, unannounced shake-up.
Peter 2009
You have to wonder where all this will end, but perhaps more to the point, where it all comes from - lax regulations or over-enthusiastic efforts to ensure that the sport is clean? __I'm still in the latter camp, and I've seen nothing to refute the claim that tennis is by and large clean, and well-policed

Peter 2006
Given the amount of time he’s had off and the fact that Nadal’s own doctor said in an official ATP press release that his foot is healed, I find his withdrawal from an event that will be without the defending champ, Safin, or Agassi, baffling.__Whether or not there's anything more to this story, I can't say. But I'm going to make a point in Australia to pin down some folks on some of the more compelling issues—like whether or not it's possible to duck out-of-competition testing by simply not answering the door when the testers come around.
Peter 2009
The funny thing about doping is that it really invites the most outrageous and circumstantial speculations. A guy - or girl - whips himself into fantastic shape and the first thing a certain element of the public claims is that the player must be doping. There's a lot wrong with that kind of thinking, starting with the fact that it's profoundly insulting.

I'm calling out Peter Bodo (again)

This is the kind of sycophantic enabling that now passes for sports journalism. I believe Peter Bodo has in the past stated that he suspected performance enhancing drugs were being used in tennis (If anyone has that old link from his site, I'd appreciate it). Why has he changed his mind?
One of the big reasons that the steroid problem has gotten out of hand in tennis is because "journalists" like Peter Bodo have turned a blind eye to it. I suppose they know where their bread is buttered:

" tennis is by and large clean and well-policed..."

Right, Peter...

And here is Peter Bodo saying the opposite of what he is saying now. One wonders what made him change his mind? To be continued...

Update: Bodo Logic (courtesty of Susan): Don't people who eat have an unfair advantage over those who don't eat? And what about if someone drinks water and it helps them play better? Should we ban food and water?
What if someone doesn't smoke? Arent't they at an advantage also? All players should have to smoke or it's cheating.

Milestone

I googled "steroids, tennis" today, as I often do, and for the first time, my website was the number one hit. I'm not sure whether to be honored or embarrassed.

Interesting Comment From Slate Article

I noticed this comment from the Slate article on doping in tennis and thought it was interesting:

Drugs may be a factor in the degradation of style and technique in tennis over recent decades. For a hundred years, Western grips and two-handed backhands were considered highly unorthodox and even incorrect technique, in part because they required more running (less lateral reach), required more squatting to pick up the low balls, and required more energy to heave the rackets sharply upward to lift the ball over the net. (The advantage is that they facilitate greater topspin.)
But nowadays Western grips and two-handed backhands have become standard. It may be that drug-induced fitness is enabling players to enjoy the advantages of these hitting styles without paying the penalty of early exhaustion. Their success belittles the authority of generations of authors of tennis how-to books, and reduces young players' respect for (the ability of) their elders.



Update: A commenter chalks this change up simply to the change in racquets over the years. I'm definitely not an expert on this subject. I was more interested in the "degradation of style and technique" aspect of the comment. To my eyes, the more powerful game being played now shows less style and technique (and a lot more grunting). You could argue that it is simply a matter of a DIFFERENT style and technique, but it just seems like something has been lost and not just because of the improvement in racquets over the years. It would also be interesting to ponder the reverse; whether the change in racquet makes steroids more advantageous for players.

Pretty (Big) in Pink

Legalizing Performance Enhancing Drugs?

During my interview with Dr. Yesalis, he seemed to be on the brink of advocating the idea that performance enhancing drugs should be legalized. The premise was the fact that we have been unable to stop them anyway, so why not just make them legal and be done with it? Although I think that he has a valid point, I disagree with this argument for a couple of reasons.

1. Have we really tried all that hard to stop the use of performance enhancing drugs?
The history of most professional sports has been a lax attitude about drug testing. This may, in part, be a bit of naivete on the part of the officials of these sports, but I think it has generally been deliberate. Athletes on steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are bigger, faster and break records. It adds excitement to the game and that adds money to the pockets of the same people who are supposed to guard the hen house. If we are going to stop, or at least control the use of performance enhancing drugs, a real effort needs to be made. When, for example, the tennis steroid scandal eventually comes to light, many players are going to disappear and tennis will be starting fresh. Like baseball, it will initially hurt the game financially, but finally we will get a chance to see only clean athletes play the game. Is it inevitable that a new crop of players will find ways to beat the system and use performance enhancing drugs - proving Dr. Yesalis' point? I don't know, but I think it's worth finding out.

2. What will happen if performance enhancing drugs are made legal?
While the current crop of drugs already leave some players looking a bit freakish, imagine what it might be like in ten, twenty or even thirty years, particularly as children are fed these drugs to create the ultimate athlete. Will we have a 450 linebacker coming after a 7 and a half foot tall quarterback? Will someone Yao Ming’s size be a point guard? Will we have a tennis player who is so tall and strong that he has a 200 mph serve? I admit that it sounds exciting in a gladiatorial kind of way, but these athletes will become somewhat of a carnival sideshow. I’m guessing sports like curling, bowling, darts and such would take on a new popularity for those of us who want athletes that at least seem like they are in the same species as us (I’m waiting for the first person to send me a link about performance enhancing drugs in bowling – other than beer…).

3. The drugs won't just be optional - you won't be able to compete without them
This is already true in such sports as bodybuilding and would certainly be true for any kind of weightlifting, wrestling or other strength sports. Arguably (at least I make this argument), it may be close to true in tennis right now. Clearly, allowing performance enhancing drugs is going to be equivalent to requiring them.

4. These drugs are not healthy for people
There are already enough problems with the drugs out there today. The drugs of the future will likely be even more dangerous.

The Rumor Mill Swirls

This thread discussion is not too far off from some of my own speculation, but I still think it is unlikely. It would seem hard for tennis officials to defend keeping such a thing a secret while they put Gasquet on the roaster right away. It would explain some things, though. (Thanks again, Heidi).

Steroids and Muscle Building Part II

Rafael Nadal's admission that he doesn't spend much time in the gym was somewhat surprising to me. I didn't think that he could gain that kind of muscle development from weightlifting alone, and now it appears he isn't even weightlifting. Some readers have been asking me to what extent a player can gain muscle without weight training. I come from a gym background and I hadn't really considered this possibility. I just assumed that players were doing at least some weight training and my assumption was reinforced by those arguing that players are more muscular due to all the weight training they are doing. In the past, sports like tennis and swimming have not created particularly muscular athletes. Both require mostly what we would term "aerobic" exercise and aren't known to bulk up muscle. This leaves me wondering how a tennis player might build that kind of muscle without weightlifting. Are players building this muscle from playing tennis? I actually think they are (with the help of some "supplements").
To make my point I want to start with swimming. There have been two steroid scandals in world class swimming. The first was the East German women of the 1970's and the second was the Chinese women in the 1990's. If you look at pictures of these athletes (and I'm assuming no one doubts they were on steroids), you see impressive upper body definition, but, surprisingly, relatively "normal" lower body size and definition. I believe the reason for that is the nature of the sport. Although kicking is important in swimming, it doesn't compare to the work you do with the upper body. After a long race, your shoulders, arms and chest are likely to be exhausted, but generally your legs remain relatively fresh. Apparently, with steroids on board, that upper body work is enough to build muscle, but the legs still don't really cross that threshold. This seems to show that you can build muscle on steroids with much more aerobic exercise than you could without steroids.
If you look at the, uh, more muscular tennis players, however, they also have very muscular legs. They are running and stopping and putting a lot of stress on the leg muscles as well as the upper body with their swing. This puts their lower body over that threshold, I think. Interestingly, in Nadal's case there is marked asymmetry between his dominant left hand and his right hand, particularly the two biceps. I think this is a similar point. He puts much more work on his left arm while playing and it develops much more. If he worked out and did a lot of curls and other exercises for his arms, this asymmetry would even out. I see a little bit of asymmetry in some of the other more muscular players, but not to the extent of Nadal. Either they do more weight training than he does to balance it out, or they use their non-dominant arm more than he does (anyone want to chime in on that subject?). In any case, racquets today are lighter than they were 30 or 40 years ago. There is really no reason why Arthur Ashe and John McEnroe and Chris Evert would not have been at least as muscular as players today if modern players aren't really doing much weight training.

Interesting Article About Players Getting Off Easy From Doping

Okay, it's a Gasquet story, and I promised to stop with those, but it also points out the fact that a lot of players are getting off easier than they should according to WADA mandatory penalities, by making these (flimsy, in my opinion) cases for why they inadvertently doped themselves. A good lawyer can get these players off quite easily. The take home message is that Hingis should have tried harder. (Thanks Heidi)

Any news on Montcourt?

Has anyone heard anything else regarding the death of Mathieu Montcourt?  The story seems to have fallen off the radar.  

Nadal Mocks His Defenders

(Thanks Anonymous)
For those who have been claiming the Nadal has gained his muscular, high-definition frame from weight training. Rafael Nadal mocks you just as he mocks the rest of us. As I see it, in this article he is basically saying, "Ha ha, you'll never catch me and I'll keep collecting my paychecks."

Well, here's what he really says:
"I hate the gym.
I don’t spend much time in there and I never have done – I just don’t see why. I only ever run when there’s some point to it – say, if it’s in a game of tennis. I do a lot of aerobics in the pre-season period, but after that I keep fit by playing in tournaments."

Update:  I have commented before on the fact that most of the male players are now wearing baggier shirts that hide their physiques.  Fashion statement or not, I'm assuming this is also to avoid the obvious questions.  Nadal appears to be joining that club:

"I’ve decided to put my muscles away.

I used to wear sleeveless T-shirts all the time on court, but now I’ve got a brand new look – I’ve moved on to polo shirts. Sleeveless T-shirts give you real freedom of movement and they keep you cooler in matches, but I just thought it was time for a change."

I Don't Understand Modern Training Techniques

I get a lot of people saying something like this: "The reason players have good muscle and definition is because modern players do a lot of weight training and cardiovascular training." So can someone explain how women players like Groenefeld (above) and Bartoli are competing at top levels, while carrying around that much size? Shouldn't they be too slow, lumbering and lacking in late game stamina to compete?

Sara Errani is Coming On Strong

Not "superstrong," but It just seems like there is something in the water in Italy, these days.

One last post on Gasquet (A partial apology)

Update:  A wise reader (Thanks to Heidi) informs me that cocaine is only prohibited in-competition and is not prohibited out-of-competition.  That explains a lot and makes my point, on the one hand, but waters it down on the other.  It would appear that he thought he was not going to get into any trouble by using cocaine, because he wasn't violating the out-of-competition banned list.  Clearly, there was no attempt to get an advantage for playing tennis.  Like I said, I am not a moralist, although the guy should really use his head in the future.   I wish Mr. Gasquet the best (but no way am I buying his kissed-a-girl story).  Now can we focus on catching users of real performance enhancing drugs?  

It's a desert out there for good pics

A few of my favorites are seeing action, but no good pics floating around.  

The Larger Point Regarding the Gasquet Fiasco

I've said before that I'm not a moralist and I don't really care about whether a player uses cocaine (as long as it isn't used for performance enhancement).  The most important point of my "alternative" version of the events and Gasquet's attempt to portray this as an out-of-competition test, is the fact that the players are not afraid of the out-of-competition testing.  Gasquet obviously believed it was safe to do cocaine after he dropped out of the tournament, because he didn't realize he would be subject to an in-competition test.  It follows that he wasn't afraid that it would be picked up in an out-of-competition test.  Either he knew they wouldn't be testing him out-of-competition or he knew he could beat the test.

Does anyone know whether any of the players caught for doping in the past were from an out-of-competition tests?  

Fascinating Sports Illustrated Article about Drugs in Sports

From 1969!

I had no idea...

"Footballers, many of whom are as interested in trying to make themselves as big and strong as any weight lifter or shotputter, were also obvious anabolic steroid candidates. Though the Charger's experiment may have been a bit abortive, the drug has since caught on in football. It is an assumption, based on reasonably good but unverifiable reports, that some players on almost every NFL and AFL team have used anabolic steroids. It is a fact, according to physicians or players, that, in addition to the Chargers, members of the Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns have taken the drug. Ken Ferguson of Utah State University, who went on to play professional football in Canada, has said that 90% of college linemen have used steroids. "I'd say anybody who has graduated from college to professional football in the last four years has used them," said Ferguson in 1968."

(Hat tip to Charlie)

An Alternative Version of the Gasquet Affair

Gasquet shown here at his social phobia class (Thanks Heidi)

An alternative story (to this fairy tale offered by Gasquet).  I'll let the reader decide which is more plausible:

Gasquet had hurt his shoulder and knew he was withdrawing from the Miami tournament, so, far from being the shy guy he was painted as at his hearing, decided to go out and party after he had run into a French DJ that afternoon, who told him about an event he was DJ’ing that is apparently known as a big coke party.  Richard called his mommy and had her get a ticket for him back to France, but not until the next day, so he could go to the event that night and party. Gasquet went to the event and imbibed the same substances as everyone else.  

Thinking that he would not be subject to an in-competition drug test, since he hadn’t played any matches, he got caught up, because he technically was entered in the competition (he hadn’t played because he had a bye, but the first round had already started) and was therefore subject to an in-competition drug test and his number came up.  So he had to do the drug test. 

He spent a lot of time in the hearing trying to say that this was really an out-of-competition drug test, probably because different rules and jurisdictions would apply and he apparently might be able to weasel out of it on a technicality.  That argument failed, but he had the backup argument that he had kissed “Pamela” on the mouth (several times) and this somehow got enough cocaine in his system to give him a positive test.  Even though she denied EVER kissing him on the lips, she wouldn’t come to the hearing where she was to be painted as a coke whore, so her denial was ignored. 

Where did he come up with this implausible story in the first place?  Was it his doctor or coach?  No, it was apparent cocaine expert, Rafael Nadal, who suggested this as a hypothetical way to have such a thing happen.

"Nadal fears that even casual contact with a drug user could have easily accounted for the positive test of the number 21. "He's most certainly not taking cocaine," said Nadal. "You know what the world is like today. When you go to a party, anything can happen these days. If you kiss a girl who's taken cocaine, anything can happen, and that's the truth."

 You want the truth, Nadal?  You can’t handle the truth.

 Gasquet was then blessed with a Confederacy of Dunces who believed or chose to believe this absurd premise.  For the record, let's name them here:

Tim Kerr QC, Chairman

Professor Richard H. McLaren

Dr. Mario ZorzolI

 

 

The ITF"s New Mission

After "exonerating" Richard Gasquet, the ITF has announced today that they are going to help OJ Simpson find the "real killers" of Nicole.  After that, they have been hired on to find those weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Just Because I'm a Fan of Fashion

Thanks Matthew

Hey, How about a picture?

Is Gasquet's wrist still hurting?

The suspension of Gasquet was apparently overturned.  They bought his defense that he kissed a girl named Pamela (no last name given) at a night club and that is how he came up positive for cocaine.  I am not making this up.  Didn't Nadal kind of invent this excuse for him in the first place?  I'm going to post this, but then I'm going to check and make sure it isn't a piece from The Onion.  

Click here for Gasquet's new theme song.

THASP Interview With Dr. Charles Yesalis

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of interviews with experts in the field of sports doping.

Charles Yesalis is a Professor of Health Policy and Administration, Exercise and Sport Science at Penn State University.
From his bio:
For the past twenty-five years, much of Dr. Yesalis' research has been devoted to the non-medical use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AS) and other performance-enhancing drugs and dietary supplements. In 1988 he directed the first national study of AS use among adolescents and was the first to present evidence of psychological dependence on AS. In addition, he has studied the incidence of AS use among elite power lifters, collegiate athletes, and professional football players. In 1993, using nationwide data, he demonstrated the association between AS use and violent behavior as well as an association with the use of other illicit drugs and alcohol. He also presented an estimate of lifetime AS use in the U.S. population (over one million). A recent study conducted by Dr. Yesalis showed a significant increase in AS use among teenage girls and boys since 1990.

I conducted this interview by phone and did not have access to a tape recorder, so I am reconstructing the interview through my notes and memory (I’ll send a copy to Dr. Yesalis in case he has corrections or clarifications). I will occasionally add commentary in parentheses. Dr. Yesalis shoots from the hip and I think readers will enjoy his style:

THASP: Do you think that there is a steroid problem in tennis?
CY: Look – There’s a lot of money in tennis, like many professional sports. It’s human nature that people will try to get an edge in business, war and sports.
THASP: Looking at today’s players in comparison to players of years past, do you think that their muscularity, stamina and athleticism is indicative of steroid or performance enhancing drug use?
CY: I suppose you could explain some of it by nutrition and working out, but adding 10 – 15 pounds of muscle, all things equal, is going to give you an advantage. If a player is ranked 180th, he probably isn’t going to jump to the top, but among top players you’ll get an advantage. (Stated later in the interview) Steroids and Growth Hormone  can improve performance and allow athletes to practice more and recuperate faster.
THASP: Do you think that the current drug testing is adequate?
CY: There’s Growth Hormone, designer steroids… Top players would have enough money to get what they want.
THASP: Are you referring to tennis, specifically?
CY: It’s ubiquitous in all sports. You can only test for what you know exists. By the time we find out about one drug, they have moved on to another. There is a lot of money involved and it’s not all that difficult. Victor Conte and Patrick Arnold weren’t exactly brain surgeons. It’s not that hard to get around testing if you want.
THASP: Do you think that the WADA “whereabouts” out-of-competion testing can be effective?
CY: Look, there are as many elite athletes using today as there were 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. I’m hearing they can even get around the “passport system.” I’ve been doing this for 30 years. At first I was naively optimistic, but no real progress has been made.
THASP: Some players are complaining that the whereabouts system is an invasion of privacy.
CY: I think they have a good point! I think it’s beyond the pale. That’s my patriotic view.
THASP: Many of us are drug tested at our workplace. I’m subject to random searches. How is this any different?
CY: Do they do body cavity searches on you?
THASP: No.
CY: I mean, there are levels, right?

(As anyone who reads my site knows, I disagree with his point, here, and I think random searches are a necessary evil. I’d chalk this up to a bit of a political divide. In his bio, Dr. Yesalis notes that he is into weightlifting, Harleys and, when I first contacted him, I had to postpone the interview, because he was going out “shooting.” I am also into weightlifting, just sold my Harley, which was mostly a midlife crisis toy and I am downright afraid of guns).

THASP: Do you think that there is any way to stop the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports?
CY: This has been been going on since the 1960’s. Everytime you have a scandal, then they say, “Okay, now we’ve got it fixed.” But the problem just continues. I wrote an op-ed about this for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1996 before the Olympic Games and made this same point. Still nothing has changed.
THASP: You sound fatalistic about it. If you can’t stop athletes from using performance enhancing drugs, then do you think they should just allow their use in competitions.
CY: (After a long pause) Whenever I’m asked that, I’m tempted to say – well the only thing that stops me is the kids and the role model issue, although kids have plenty of bad role models with entertainers and actors, today.
THASP: I’ve noticed some junior players, 14 and 15 year olds, that seem seem unusually muscular and I’m wondering whether steroids are seeping into youth tennis. Are you aware of a problem with younger tennis players or other athletes?
CY: I had a study published in 1988 in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) about regular high school teenagers using these drugs. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if young athletes are using them.
THASP: Do you think that if there was less of a financial incentive, there would be less temptation for players to cheat?
CY: Maybe it would make things a little better, but even in “drug free” bodybuilding tournaments they catch cheaters and all they get for winning is a trophy. 

(As a personal aside, in my youth I considered entering a “drug free” bodybuilding competition sponsored by my gym, but was intimidated by some of the other guys planning to compete. Shortly before the tournament, two of them were caught injecting each other with steroids in the gym bathroom - THASP).
THASP: Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Yesalis.
CY: Thank you, I enjoyed it.

Pics on the Site

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been posting as many pictures on the site, of late. Because of complaints from naysayers that "all it is, is a bunch of pictures," I decided to beef things up a bit and organize some of the links in a more convenient fashion. I will continue to put up pictures, but I am going to be very picky. In the meantime, check back later today, as I have an interview I did with an expert in the field of sports doping that I will be posting.
THASP

Positive tests or am I misreading this document?

According to this chart, tennis had 17 AAF’s and 8 ADRV’s from testing in 2007.  I am going to see if I can find out more about this.  Does anyone know why I shouldn’t conclude that this shows a lot of positive tests in tennis that were never made public? (Thanks Matthew)

 NOTE: The Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) in this report are not to be confused with adjudicated or sanctioned Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV). "Adverse Analytical Finding" is defined in the World Anti-Doping Code as "a report from a laboratory or other WADA-approved entity that, consistent with the International Standard for Laboratories and related Technical Documents, identifies in a Sample the presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers (including elevated quantities of endogenous substances) or evidence of the Use of aProhibited Method."

Update from a commenter:
2007 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme
(ITF Testing)
Hingis,Kyu Tae Im,John Paul Fruttero,Laura Pous Tio,Marcel Felder,Marcelo Melo,Franz Stauder(7 names)
http://www.itftennis.com/antidoping/news/decisions.asp

There are other players listed on the page who failed under the WADA Code due to testing by their national orgs.

WADA on Whereabouts and out-of-competition testing

There is really no alternative to the whereabouts program that requires an athlete to let testers know where he will be on a particular day in order to facilitate surprise testing.  Nothing else has a chance to beat doping cheaters. Surprise testing is the only way. In my opinion, this is why many of the, uh, more muscular players are so opposed to it. This is from the WADA website:

The concept of out-of-competition is not new. Experience has shown that out-of-competition testing is crucial to the fight against doping, in particular because a number of prohibited substances and methods are detectable only for a limited period of time in an athlete’s body while maintaining a performance-enhancing effect. The only way to perform such testing is by knowing where athletes are, and the only way to make it efficient is to be able to test athletes at times at which cheaters may be most likely to use prohibited substances and methods.

For this reason, out-of-competition testing has taken place for years. The new element introduced by the 2009 Code and the 2009 International Standard for Testing (IST) is the harmonization, requested by WADA’s stakeholders during the revision process, of the various whereabouts requirements applied by different anti-doping organizations. A number of pre-existing regimes involved athletes providing more extensive whereabouts information than is now required by the Code and IST. In fact, the 2009 Code and IST did not increase whereabouts requirements per se; in many cases, they actually reduced the amount of whereabouts information requested and the burden placed on the athlete as relates to whereabouts requirements. What the 2009 Code and Standard did is harmonize whereabouts requirements among Code signatories, i.e. to a broader range of sports.

Nadal Coming Back Just in Time for US Open

Looks like Rafael Nadal is going to be back playing in time for the U.S. Open.
Who could have guessed that he would return so quickly? Most people with such severe tendinitis would want to rest their knees and avoid any hard training. According to the story, he is slowly recuperating, so only a superhuman could be expected to hop on the court and compete with just a few weeks preparation. Best of luck, Rafa!

Outrage is a dish best served to others.

This is a (grainy) video from the World Swimming Championships in Rome in 1994. I post it here to highlight the double standard applied to steroid accusations when the athletes are from "bad" countries. My favorite quote (similar to one I am often chastised for here): "I’ve never seen athletes look that good from just hard work and weight training." By the way, take a look at the Chinese Swimmer they cut away to as he is saying that. As with the East Germans, in the past, the swimmers have massive upper body and thin legs.
I remember similar outrage when the East German women swimmers of the 70's appeared, based mostly on their unnatural physiques. Similar outrage was directed at Russian weightlifters based on their size and the amount that they were able to lift. More recently, outrage was directed at the Chinese women gymnasts for their overly youthful appearance. In other words, it is perfectly acceptable to make negative judgments about athletes based on their appearance and performance if they are from a "bad" country, but don't dare say anything about American and European athletes from our "good" countries.

The Business of Tennis

The WTA has a new CEO.  I find this story interesting, as it hardly mentions tennis as anything other than a big business.  Does anyone know if the head of the WTA was always called "CEO"?  I think that when you treat a sport primarily as a business, it will help your bottom line and bring more money to the sport, but when you live by that sword, you can't go back.  Catching drug cheats (you knew I was going there) is not going to help tennis' bottom line.  It will hurt it, as it did baseball.  There is no incentive to catch dopers when looking at tennis primarily from a business model.

More on Player Whining About Drug Testing

Apparently, Nadal and Murray are going to try for legal action against the new drug testing.  (Link from Matthew) In my opinion, that is a good sign that it might be working.  Many of us are drug tested at work.  I am subject to searches anytime at a government institution where I work and I don't make the kind of money that these clowns do.  It should be obvious why they don't like the drug testing.  They will only get away with this if they can sucker enough people into believing that they are victims. 

For the record here are some quotes from other players regarding testing (Once again, thanks anonymous):

"It is no fun. But to fight cheats I will do it. I am already giving my daily.”

Mahesh Bhupathi, tennis, India

19 February 2009, Indian Express

 

“I think this system is demanding but necessary to ensure that everybody can be tested

anytime.”

Gilles Simon, tennis, France

18 February 2009, L’Équipe.fr (translation)

 

"It's a tough system, no doubt. It's a significant change to what we were used to before, so

I think it takes some getting used to it."

"I feel like this is how you're going to catch them, right? You're not going to catch them

ringing them up and saying, 'Look, I would like to test you maybe in two days.' The guy's

cheating and they're smart, right? It's an hour a day. I know it's a pain, but I would like it

to be a clean sport, and that's why I'm OK with it.”

Roger Federer, tennis, Switzerland

1 February 2009, The Associated Press

 

“It's a little strict, but it's the same for everyone. It's gonna really clean up our sport. There

will be no questions in anyone's head if anyone's cheating.”

Mike Bryan, tennis, USA

26 March 2009, Miami Herald

 

 

Not Meeting their Membership Requirements...

While googling the other day, I came across a thread dedicated to my blog at "Talk Tennis."

I wanted to put up a post and discuss some of the things being said about it (as well as some not so nice insults).  I attempted to register and got this message:

On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 7:19 AM, Talk Tennis  wrote:

Dear tennis roids,
Unfortunately your registration at Talk Tennis did not meet our membership requirements. Therefore your registration was deleted.
Sorry,
Talk Tennis