Should Weight-Loss Drugs Be Banned After Serena Williams’ Comeback? Tennis Chiefs Speak Out, Leaving Fans Speechless
Does tennis have a problem with players abusing ADHD drugs and should weight loss drugs be permitted in the sport?
They are debates that have been rumbling around the rumour mill in tennis for some time, with many involved in tennis suggesting numerous players are claiming therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) to allow them to use ADHD drugs like
Former top-10 professional tennis player Fernando Verdasco accepted a voluntary provisional doping suspension of two months back in 2022 after testing positive for a medication for ADHD, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Wednesday.
Verdasco said he was taking methylphenidate as medication prescribed by his doctor to treat ADHD but forgot to renew his therapeutic use exemption for the drug. The integrity agency said Verdasco has been granted an exemption by the World Anti-Doping Agency moving forward.
Rumours have suggested Verdasco’s story is just the tip of a large iceberg, with ADHD drugs helping to ‘enhance your ability to focus, plan, and regulate impulses while reducing hyperactivity’.
All of those impacts could have a positive and performance-enhancing impact on tennis players, with the debate over whether ADHS drugs are being used by players who may not need them medically underway.
This question was put to Karren Moorhouse, CEO of the ITIA, as she appeared on the latest episode of the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast.
“I think there’s this kind of view within the sport that lots and lots of players are on ADHD medication. That’s absolutely not the case,” declared Moorhouse.
And actually, particularly with ADHD, the process for getting a TUE involves getting, I think it’s two experts to confirm that diagnosis. So again, making sure that that is really carefully managed.
“We have a TUE committee and they are tasked with looking at the applications and there’s understandably quite a thorough process that is gone through for that because again, it comes back to the level playing field.
“The starting point is about protecting athletes’ health. So we need to have a system that enables players to take what they need to protect their health. Equally, that needs to be balanced in making sure that that is not abused and people are not taking things to enhance their performance. So there is a thorough process and the right experts who are involved in that process.”
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Moorhouse also addressed the issue of weight loss drugs, with the issue heightened following Serena Williams’ decision to return to tennis for the grass court season in June.
Williams revealed she has been using weight loss drugs since the birth of her second child, but no one questioned that decision until she returned to professional tennis.
Many have questioned whether losing weight using drugs that are currently not on any banned doping list is fair, with Moorhouse confirming the situation is under review.
I think it’s a really interesting area and look we again, we look to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), who set this list across all sports.
“I think it’s absolutely right and proper that they’re looking at them because all of us who are not scientists look into it. For some sports, there might be a benefit there, but we will follow WADA’s lead and the expertise that they have on that.”
The debate over weight loss drugs may soon end if WADA and the ITIA confirm they are no longer permitted in professional tennis.
