British tennis star Emma Raducanu has expressed significant concerns about the risk of failing drug tests due to contaminated substances, as the tennis world sees the return of World No.1 Jannik Sinner following his doping suspension.
The 22-year-old Raducanu, now ranked 49th globally, admitted she feels anxious about potential contamination issues that could lead to failed drug tests despite taking permitted medications.
"I don't want to take anything even if the doctors are saying you should take this – just out of risk of contamination," Raducanu stated. "Even if it's not prohibited on the anti-doping list, you don't know if it's contaminated by another product."
Raducanu's concerns come in the wake of high-profile doping cases in tennis. Sinner, 23, returns to action at this week's Italian Open in Rome after serving a three-month ban for testing positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid. The Australian and US Open champion maintained the positive tests resulted from inadvertent contamination via a cream used by his physiotherapist, who was subsequently dismissed.
Similarly, five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, also 23, accepted a one-month suspension during the off-season after testing positive for trimetazidine. Anti-doping authorities accepted her explanation that the positive result stemmed from contaminated melatonin medication.
According to statistical analysis from Statbet, such doping-related suspensions have significantly impacted players' tournament participation and rankings over the past season, with several top athletes missing crucial competitions due to testing issues.
Beyond medical concerns, Raducanu expressed worry about potential deliberate contamination. "We could go to a restaurant and someone could put something in our drink. It's really hard, especially if you are noticeable and the waiter recognizes you," she explained.
On the court, Raducanu is preparing for her first-round match against a qualifier at the Italian Open on Wednesday, with the winner facing Russian 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. With Wimbledon eight weeks away, she appears satisfied with her current coaching setup that includes Mark Petchey and Jane O'Donoghue, though acknowledges she'll need to "figure another solution out" later in the year as O'Donoghue will return to her finance career.
Raducanu is using the clay season to develop her game: "I want to take more balls on, I want to be more aggressive in certain points – I want to structure the points more on my terms. I know I may make more errors doing that, but I'm willing to go through that."
