Rafael Nadal Was Probably A Doper Too

  Jannick Sinner is a doper. Iga Swiatek is a doper. They are two of the best players we have seen in tennis over the last decade. Each became no.1 by dominating. Now, they have both found to have benefited from illegal substances. The sport of tennis is in major trouble.

 Who ever thought that the ways in which Rafael Nadal acted on the tennis court were normal ? If you thought that, then you were probably never suspicious of Rafa. But I was always scared for Rafa. He looked like an insane person adjusting his water bottles, touching himself relentlessly and having that black look in his empty eyes. Some claim these were the idiosyncrasies of a champion, but you could easily use this same evidence to say he was definitely doping. 

 Why am I using Jannick and Iga to throw Rafa under the bus ? It has been way too long that the fans have been in the dark about how these players become the machines we see on television. Not only do we hear months later that some have failed doping tests, we literally have Russian players that come out of nowhere, ready to dominate on the tour. There is a lot that is amiss, but since most people can only name a few pro players, no one seems to care.

 Both Jannick and Iga are more like robots than humans. They follow that Rafa tradition of somehow being on a different level. But now we have failed tests to go along with this dominance. And we also have special treatment. Simona Halep got a two year ban that was enforced for most of that time. We had to be informed of Jannick's two failed tests, and nothing at all happened to him. Iga gets sanctioned as she was heading home for the year-end break. This just forces me to assume that Rafa also failed tests, we just never found out because he was too large of a star.

 The point is that the gloves are now off for the fans. Rafa used to focus on the clay season. Was he just not showing up so no one could test him until he was clean ? This scenario fits in perfectly with his entire career. If the two no.1's right now can be found to be cheaters, then why not ? At this point, anyone acting differently then everyone else, but also being no.1, is under suspicion.

 We are not in the midst of a memorable chapter in pro tennis. A lot of people have not recovered from Naomi Oskaka yet. She was also no.1 and became the top endorsed female athlete of all time. But instead of admitting she just didn't want to play on clay, the entire world was dragged into a mental health timeout. That's her sister who said that, not me. It is awesome that she is a mother now, but she's burned a lot of bridges going from New York, to Florida, to then becoming a Japanese citizen and changing the way she talks. 

 At times, I wonder how tennis survives. There are so many support systems for what becomes the tour manned by people who are just dedicated, not getting rich. If you have ever run a junior tennis tournament, or been an official, or just driven a bunch of kids to a tennis lesson, you know what I mean. But we aren't even turning the kids who play tennis into fans. Playing tennis doesn't automatically mean you watch it on TV. That's pretty stunning. A few years ago I sold advertising to a deli and a liquor store to support a tournament that Danielle Collins won. She went on to the big stage immediately. The hardcore fans of tennis created in that organic environment cannot be overstated.

 It would seem that the advertising that gets sold for the U.S. Open and all the majors is making people rich, but not making the sport wealthy. The amount of low level tournaments that occur in America now is impressive. But the winners of these tournaments could make a lot more money waiting tables all week. And that's the winners. Plus it takes locals opening up their homes to the players so they have some place to stay. Every top player has spent time in a stranger's home. In fact, every Grand Slam winner has sets of parents all over the world. This side of tennis has to come out more.

 The big tour we see on TV is based on all the smaller events. Players have to win their way to the upper levels of the sport. But the problems we see occur after that. It is too easy for players to stay at the higher rungs. The democracy of the sport melts away at the very top. Players who are just hanging around don't get replaced fast enough by the hungry players below them. And since the sport is just looking for its next TV star to invest in, the essence of the sport does not seem to matter too much.

 For me, the most interesting parts of tennis are the qualifying and the first week of the majors. All levels of tennis are represented here. And the difference between the various levels disappears for brief moments. Young players getting their first taste, veterans getting their last chance, stars being forced to gut it out against people they have never played and matches happening every second of every day. But this chaos, this tennis Mardi Gras, is not what Emirates, BNP Paribas and Kia are investing their money for. They want the stars on the big stages to go along with their marketing campaigns. 

 The Big 3 make my point. Roger Federer is perhaps the most famous person in the world. Rafa is rumored to be taking over a Spanish Football Club. And Novak Djokovic has taken over for Dr. Evil, challenging countries and the United Nations. They remain the three male tennis players that people can name. And that fame made a lot of corporations rich. No one remembers that Roger was a cry baby, Rafa wore Capri pants and Novak used to fake so many injuries, we thought he had a heart ailment.  

 Tennis certainly is cultural. The way the world dresses comes down to tennis. We call every kind of shoes, "tennis shoes." Every polo shirts has its roots with the French Davis Cup team. But I personally would like the deeper side of tennis to also be cultural. The grit it takes for a kid to overcome all the other things there are to do for fun, the weather and their opponent to succeed at 8am on a Saturday down at the local public park, is awesome. But it is difficult to explain that when those at the top of the sport are cussing at umpires, breaking rackets, rebelling against international bodies and taking illegal enhancements. The children should be at the tournaments for children. 

Lex Luthor

"Consolidated Break by Greg Gunther"

-nationally ranked college player

-25 yr high performance coach

-yeah that's right my opinion matters