International tennis and anti-doping officials on Wednesday expressed disappointment at Andre Agassi’s admission that he used a banned drug and lied to escape a ban, but said it was too late to impose sanctions against the eight-time Grand Slam champion.
Agassi reveals in an upcoming autobiography that he used the recreational stimulant crystal meth in 1997 and avoided a doping suspension for a positive test by claiming he ingested the drug by accident in a spiked drink.
Under today’s anti-doping rules, a player could face a ban of up to two years for use of the drug.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president John Fahey said the body could not take any action against Agassi because of its eight-year statute of limitations, and that it was “unlikely” the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) would either.
“WADA would, however, expect the ATP, which administered its own anti-doping program at that time, to shed light on this allegation,” Fahey said in a statement.
International Tennis Federation (ITF) president Francesco Ricci Bitti said he was “surprised and disappointed” by Agassi’s disclosures.
“Such comments in no way reflect the fact that the Tennis Anti-Doping Program is currently regarded as one of the most rigorous and comprehensive anti-doping program in sport,” he said.
Ricci Bitti said the incident occurred before WADA was founded in 1999 and when drug-testing was handled by individual governing bodies. The ITF assumed responsibility for the ATP’s anti-doping program in 2006 and for the WTA Tour in 2007.
“The ITF, Grand Slams, ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are now unified in their efforts to keep tennis free of drug use, and this should not be overshadowed by an incident that took place over 12 years ago,” Ricci Bitti said. “The statements by Mr. Agassi do, however, provide confirmation that a tough anti-doping program is needed.”
The ATP said an independent panel makes the final decision on a doping violation.
“The ATP has always followed this rule, and no executive at the ATP has therefore had the authority or ability to decide the outcome of an anti-doping matter,” the statement said.
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