The discussion around doping is currently at an all-time high. Players around the world are sharing their opinions on the use of performance-enhancement drugs. Many are also discussing the punishment for the offense. Maria Sakkari also relayed her thoughts surrounding the subjects, which has evoked much response. The most recent comments came from tennis’s resident bad boy Nick Kyrgios, who went on to mock her reply.

The discussion on the subject arose out of the recent ban handed to the 2019 Wimbledon champion. Roxadustat, a banned substance for athletes, was found in Romanian star Simona Halep‘s blood sample. The subsequent ban handed to her shocked the world and created headlines. 

Nick Kyrgios blasts Greek player

As the news of Halep’s ban went viral, fans and players were dumbfounded. Tennis fans are divided on the issue. Some support her, and some are in favor of the ban. Maria Sakkari spoke out and stated her opinion on the matter. Her comments focused on the ITIA. She said that their process is quite inefficient and inconvenient.  

She also spoke about her fear that even electrolytes will become a banned substance. Sakkari also spoke about the application that schedules pickups of samples, which also fails to work efficiently. Overall, Sakkari feels quite inconvenienced by the anti-doping procedure. Noticing her opinions on the matter, Nick Kyrgios blasted the Greek player.

He said, “Ehhhh not really lol, I run on bananas and coke cola in 5 set battles. And my record in them speaks for itself. Maybe players should just stop taking shady sh*t 😂 look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say yep I did it right. Not hard.”

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The story of Simona Halep’s ITIA ban till now

Near the end of 2022, a provisional ban was given to Simona Halep, which meant her hearing was yet to take place. After constant delays, the verdict was announced recently, which provided an unfavorable conclusion for the player. Halep cannot play in professional tournaments for four years. With such a heavy sentence, Patrick Mouratoglou, her coach and former coach of Serena Williams, spoke out against the matter, blasting the ITIA.

The sentence may be a difficult challenge to contest as it was borne of a grave offense. If the Swiss tribunal upholds the judgement, Halep will not likely play before 2027, which spells terrible news for her career and her fans. Now, as many tennis personalities are witnessing and commenting on the backlash, changes are expected to follow soon.

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