Alexander Bublik Reveals He Came Close To Being Banned For Doping Violation
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Alexander Bublik has admitted he was close to being added to the list of ATP players in trouble for a doping violation.
Two high-profile doping cases overshadowed much of the great tennis played on the ATP and WTA Tours in 2024. The first involved Jannik Sinner, who tested positive for the banned substance clostebol at the Indian Wells Open in March.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) launched a private five-month investigation that took five months to complete. Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing, but his points and prize money from the Indian Wells Open were stripped.
After initially being shocked by testing positive, Sinner realized that accidental contamination had taken place via his physiotherapist, who used a spray for a cut finger that he did not know had tiny traces of clostebol.
Sinner's case is still ongoing after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the ITIA's verdict. WADA does not dispute the 23-year-old's explanation of how the clostebol entered his system, but the body feels he bears some responsibility for it.
The Italian's case was made public a few days before the US Open in August. That was followed by the ITIA announcing on November 28th that Iga Swiatek had accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine.
Swiatek's positive test result came from an out-of-competition sample submitted in August. She was provisionally suspended on September 12th but had it reversed on October 4th after further testing proved that the melatonin tablets she bought were contaminated with trimetazidine.
Sinner and Swiatek's cases attracted much attention because they were both ranked at No. 1 during 2024. That has led to concerns about the sport's image being damaged by two top players testing positive for banned substances in the same season.
Although he did not reach No. 1, Mikael Ymer's 18-month suspension in July 2023 for missing three doping tests received even more focus after Swiatek and Sinner's cases. Some argue that the Swede was treated unfairly by comparison since he never tested positive for anything prohibited.
Ymer is set to return to professional tennis later this month as his suspension nears its end. Bublik, one of the most mercurial and unpredictable players in tennis, has revealed that he came close to being banned for the same season.
During an interview with Match TV, Bublik explained how he missed two doping tests and dealt with the anxiety of knowing that one more missed test could result in his suspension from professional tennis.
"Once I didn’t change the address of my house in Monaco to St. Petersburg, and people came to Monaco. You can miss a doping control three times (in a year), and that’s how I got my first."
"I took it calmly – yes, I made a mistake. Then it happened that on April 20 I entered the tournament in Geneva, which started on May 25. I received a notification that I received a second (missed test) because I did not notify them (doping officers) about participation in the tournament in Geneva. On the application you have to state where you will play and I wasn’t sure I would play in Geneva even though I had applied."
"If I had gotten another, I would have been disqualified. I think specifically I would have been disqualified to the fullest extent. I appealed the case in Geneva because we have not yet signed a contract with the tournament, I did not know if I would go and under what conditions."
"During the year I was in a serious panic attack because two absences are a lot. Another one is three years of disqualification and effectively the end of my career."
