World anti-doping chief defends Nadal over injections

Tennis great Rafael Nadal has received backing from World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) director-general Olivier Niggli after admitting to using anesthesia injections during his French Open win.

The Spaniard pulled two Grand Slam wins ahead of generational rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all-time stakes at Roland-Garros last Sunday with a record 14th win in the clay court competition.

The 36-year-old Spaniard crushed Casper Ruud in three sets in the final, and also saw off Djokovic on his way to disposing of the young Norwegian.

Following the triumph, Nadal confessed to playing with the foot that has plagued him and saw him miss most of 2021 through injury “asleep” after using anesthesia injections to numb the pain.

And while figures such as French cyclist Thibaut Pinot blasted their use by pointing out that Nadal’s methods are “simply prohibited” in his sport, Nadal has received backing from Niggli.

Speaking to Swiss TV channel RTS, Niggli pointed out that the injections aren’t on the list of prohibited products since it has been estimated that they “do not improve sports performance” and also “aren’t harmful.”

Niggli was also quick to stress that the debate on injections shouldn’t cross over into the doping conversation.

Instead, it could form part of a wider discussion on medical ethics, where it could be asked whether or not it is acceptable for an athlete to undergo injections before a match, he suggested.

Focusing on Nadal again, Niggli highlighted his dominance at the French Open and made the point that this had been achieved without medical intervention until now.

“Nadal has won 14 titles at Roland Garros, and if he got the previous 13 without the need for those injections, it is likely that the 14th was not thanks to them,” Niggli said.

Yet it is unlikely that the likes of Pinot or fellow cyclist Guillaume Martin will change their stances.

Following Pinot’s Twitter outburst where he sarcastically wrote about the “heroes of today,” Martin spoke more elaborately to L’Equipe and said that was Nadal did “would have been impossible in cycling.”

“If you’re ill or injured, you don’t race, you don’t compete, that makes sense to me, for several reasons. Firstly, for the health of athletes. In the long-term I’m not sure that will do any good to Nadal’s ankle,” Martin explained.

“Moreover, medication – and especially injections – don’t just have a healing effect; they can certainly have effects on performance or be twisted to improve performance, so it seems to me to be very much on the limit.”

Martin continued by saying that even if doing a similar thing wasn’t already banned in cycling, everyone would pile on the cyclist and brand them as doped because of there being a cultural background and cliches attached to his sport.

“Meanwhile people laud Nadal for being capable of going deep into pain. I believe [footballer] Zlatan Ibrahimovic also spoke about injections in his knee.

“They pass as heroes because they go deep into pain, but in fact, they avail of substances in order to go deep into pain and, once again, it’s very much on the limit,” Martin balked.

“The winner in cycling, in particular the Tour [de France], even if there’s nothing to it, is systematically accused of doping,” he then concluded.

To avoid a similar row at Wimbledon, Nadal has already vowed that he will not undergo a similar procedure at the British Grand Slam which has led to conclusions he may miss the SW19 spectacle altogether.