'Sports Justice Is Full Of Amateurs': Tennis Legend Enraged By Swiatek's And Sinner's Cases
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Another high-profile doping case enraged many tennis players, with most calling out the process in place.
First, Jannik Sinner tested positive for clostebol, and the handling of his case didn't make anyone happy. While he tested positive early in the year, the public learned only ahead of the US Open, which made many angry.
They weren't happy about the lack of public knowledge, and the same happened also in Iga Swiatek's case. While she tested positive already in August, the public learned it only in late November.
That, of course, caused a reaction from many players and pundits, who were again not happy with the handling of the situation. The likes of Eugenie Bouchard, Nick Kyrgios, and Denis Shapovalov shared their views, as did Simona Halep, who had to spend more than a year away from the sport.
Now, also Richard Gasquet, who will retire from the sport at the 2025 Roland Garros, spoke about the situation. The Frenchman himself had an experience with a positive test when he tested positive for cocaine in 2009 but was allowed to compete after he proved that he was contaminated.
Now, the 38-year-old talked to La Depeche, voicing his displeasure with the way how these cases were handled. In particular, the Frenchman wasn't happy about how late the public learned about the cases.
"What worries me the most is that we don’t really understand how it’s going to happen. You find out about it afterwards! Normally, there’s a trial, then you have a deliberation, you have a sentence. Now, we’re learning everything at the same time and that’s not normal, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not up to par."
According to Gasquet, the case was "very poorly managed," and he called the professionalism of it into question as well.
"I think the case is very poorly managed. You suddenly learn, ‘Hey, he’s been judged.’ During this time, nothing happened, we didn’t know anything. It’s not normal, it’s not professional."
Naturally, Gasquet didn't know a lot about the specifics of the two cases, but he wasn't a fan of anything surrounding them.
"Afterwards, the case itself, I don’t know anything about it, I haven’t looked too much. Anyway, it was poorly managed, poorly fought and poorly done, that’s a certainty."
The French player also said that, in his opinion, the sports justice is "full of amateurs," mostly, once again, because of how late the public learned about the cases.
"Sports justice is full of amateurs. There’s a cacophony. We all learn it at the same time and no one knows nothing. That doesn’t sound professional at all. Everyone says it. It’s a bit grotesque."
