The Czech Jakub Mensik (48th in the world), whose long absence was surprising during his match against Arthur Fils (20th) this Thursday at the NextGen ATP Finals in Jeddah, did not undergo “any anti-doping control”, assured Friday the organizer of the tournament.
While he had just lost the second round of his group match against the Frenchman, Mensik got a bathroom break.
This lasted longer than usual and on the images broadcast by Eurosportwe can see the Czech player complaining on his return to having been approached by anti-doping controllers, who allegedly asked him to immediately submit to a test.
“How is it possible that they are talking to me in the middle of the match?“, he was indignant, while checks are usually carried out before or after matches.
“You're right, this doesn't have to happen.“, replied the chair umpire Nacho Forcadellwho asked that this error not happen again before play resumed and that Fils won the third set and the match.
Even if Mensik was indeed requested during the meeting by officials, “no control“anti-doping was not carried out on the Czech player since the match was not finished, the ATP certified on Friday, requested by l'AFP.
The body did not specify whether Mensik had undergone a doping control after the match.
The arrival of anti-doping controllers during the Czech's break would therefore be a simple mistake.
Created in 2017, the ATP NextGen Finals brings together the eight best players under the age of 21 from the past season and has taken place since 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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