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Tennis announces new measures against doping

2013-03-08 09:36 Xinhuanet

LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Biological passports will be introduced for tennis players this year to help in the fight against doping, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Thursday.

The announcement comes after a meeting of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program working group (TADP) this week, which includes representatives from the ITF, ATP, WTA and grand slam tournaments.

The ITF said there was unanimous support for the introduction of the passport, which is used to detect variances in biological make-up that might indicate doping and has been introduced in cycling.

"The ATP has always rigorously supported the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP) and believes that the move toward the Athlete Biological Passport is the appropriate step for tennis at this time," said ATP executive chairman and president Brad Drewett.

"The players have been clear that they support increased investment in anti-doping and we feel that this is the most effective way to show the world that tennis is a clean sport."

The introduction of the Athlete Biological Passport will require the TADP to increase the number of blood tests every year.

"The implementation of the Athlete Biological Passport is an important step in the evolution of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program as it provides us with a great tool in the fight against doping in our sport," ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said.

"We also hope to have increased support from the national anti-doping agencies around the world who need to do their part if we are to win this battle and make our program more effective."

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