Ricci Bitti Was Prime Mover In Anti-Doping Meeting

Written by: Staff on 11th March 2013

Ricci Bitti Was Prime Mover In Anti-Doping Meeting

epa02563859 International Tennis Federation (ITF) President Francesco Ricci Bitti speaks during the draw for the Fed Cup meeting between Belgium and the USA in Antwerp, Belgium, 04 February 2011. Belgium and the USA play their first round matches in the Fed Cup competition on 05-06 February. EPA/ERIC LALMAND BELGIUM OUT |

International Tennis Federation president Francisco Ricci Bitti was a prime mover in last week’s New York summit by the sport’s ruling bodies to upgrade the anti-doping measures. However he vehemently hit back at suggestions that tennis was riddled with a drug culture in the same way as cycling or track and field athletics.

Ricci Bitti, well versed with the workings of other sports due to his increasing work with the International Olympic Committee, maintained the ITF could be proud of its efforts since tennis’s first dope test was carried out in 1986.

Up to now, the ITF has been solely responsible for anti-doping measures in tennis but going forward the Grand Slam tournaments, along with the ATP World Tour and WTA will also contribute to much more thorough testing and the implementation of biological passports.

“I say we can only be proud, because we started very early in anti-doping, and we believe we have a quality program,” said Ricci Bitti.

“People forget that the money we, the ITF, spend on anti-doping is taken away from grass-roots development, so we have always had to balance.”

Ricci Bitti agreed with top players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray that there should be a greater level of testing, specifically blood testing in and out of competition. “The Lance Armstrong report put doping at the top of the agenda and created problems,” he said. “But for us it is good to have public support from our top players, even if they sometimes think the anti-doping program is intrusive.”

However Ricci Bitti was not happy to hear the recent comments of Dick Pound, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency who claimed he was certain doping is a factor in tennis. Pound also recently suggested that the ITF’s system was designed to fail and “cover their butts”.

Ricci Bitti countered: “Dick Pound is free to talk but in my opinion he is talking a little bit too much. We believe we have a good program. It doesn’t mean that we can catch all the cheating people, because the research on pharmaceutical or doping substances is ongoing, and we have to run behind.

“ I am sure there is doping in each sport, obviously more in the sports where the performance is impacted directly, like cycling. We are a skill sport, but we still have to be very vigilant because tennis is becoming more physical and recovery is much easier if you take some substance.

“We have to protect the integrity of tennis, but our attitude on the sports side is that a positive doping case is a sad day. The attitude of the other side, as we see with Dick Pound, is that it is a celebration. It is a different mentality.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, anti doping tennis news, Dick Pound, Francisco Ricci Bitti, Lance Armstrong, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, trennis news