Denis Shapovalov took no time to react to the announcement of suspension for doping which hit former world number 1, Iga Swiatek. “A month of suspension, eh,” the Canadian dropped on the X platform on Thursday.
• Also read: Another doping scandal in the world of tennis: this time it is former world number 1 Iga Swiatek who is affected
• Also read: “I’m fed up”: Denis Shapovalov launches a deep cry from the heart and explains why he is also vocal on social networks
“Shapo” had already been very vocal in August, when it was announced that the suspension awarded to the current king of men’s tennis, the Italian Jannik Sinner, had been reduced. He has also been very vocal (and vocal) regarding several other issues surrounding tennis, recently, as you can read ici.
He finds it unfair
He mentioned on social networks that there were “double standards” in doping cases affecting tennis, and that not all players benefited from such leniency.
In response to an Internet user who pointed out that any athlete, including him, could be a victim of cross-contamination, the 25-year-old Ontarian said he found it “unfair that players like [Simona] Halep receives long suspensions for similar cases.
The Romanian, also a former world number 1, did not play a single tournament between August 2022 and March 2024. Halep had tested positive for Roxadustat, but on appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her suspension by four years at nine months.
A player worries about corruption
Shapovalov, 56e world, also deplored the 18-month suspension imposed on Swede Mikael Ymer. The latter was not declared positive, but he was forced to stay away from the circuit for having missed three non-tournament doping controls in one year.
“I’m glad it’s changing, because the rules are unfair. But guys like Ymer are still suspended even without having tested positive,” pointed out the Canadian.
The British Tara Moore, for her part, wondered why “no one was seriously investigating the corruption of the organizations that govern us”.
Moore failed a doping test in June 2022. Also pleading contamination, saying she had been infected by meat she had consumed during a tournament, the player who was 145e in singles waited 18 months to see his appeal accepted.
