Belinda Bencic left frustrated after being made to sit through 1.5 hours of doping tests after a marathon three set win

The Swiss tennis player expressed her frustration with the anti-doping protocols adopted by the tournament which she believes is detrimental to her post-match routine .

Belinda Bencic left frustrated after being made to sit through 1.5 hours of doping tests after a marathon three set win

Belinda Bencic (Image via user generated content)

Tokyo Olympics Gold-Medalist and Swiss tennis sensation Belinda Bencic had to go through an arduous anti-doping session lasting 1.5 hours. This took place after her 3-set match that went on for three hours against American tennis player Alycia Parks at the National Bank Canadian Open (Omnium Banque Nationale) in Montreal.

Ranked number 13 in the world, Bencic had to dig into her wealth of experience to fend off an inspiring performance from qualifier Alycia Parks to make it through to the Round of 16. The Swiss player rallied from a breakdown in the third set to beat Parks 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

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The doping test disrupted Bencic’s post-match recovery routine, and she made sure that she minced no words in expressing her discontent to the tournament directors. Talking to the press post match, a visibly frustrated Belinda Bencic remarked,“I just spent 1.5 hours in anti doping, not being able to pee after a 3 hour match. I don’t know what they expect & I don’t know why I have anti doping, when I won. I didn’t even eat yet.”

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“I had to beg to have an ice bath. It’s new rules. That’s how I recover I guess. Not ideal,” Bencic concluded. The tournament officials haven’t expressed any desire to relax the anti-doping rules as of now.

On the sports side of things, multiple Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova awaits Bencic in a mouthwatering Round of 16 clash. The Swiss player will look forward to putting her post-match discomforts behind her to make sure that she arrives into the clash in the best possible shape.

Keep Exploring: WATCH: Coco Gauff makes a CPR-related PSA after a fan fell ill during her win against Belinda Bencic in Washington

Doping grips the tennis world as Simona Halep and Mikael Ymer serve suspension

Simona Halep
Simona Halep (Credits: Sky Sports)

Belinda Bencic isn’t the only tennis player facing the anti-doping regulations as her Romanian counterpart Simona Halep and 24-year-old Swedish player Mikael Ymer have faced far worse consequences with both of them serving long-time suspension on doping charges. Ymer admitted he had been charged with a potential anti-doping rule violation in January 2022 for missing three out-of-competition test attempts in a 12-month period.

2-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat at the 2022 US Open. The former world number 1 has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 and denies having knowingly consumed the substance. Speaking in her defense to Guardian Halep said that the results – which were collated by the International Tennis Integrity Agency – showed “extremely low” levels of the substance in her system.

Knowing the past history of interconnection between doping and sports, it’d be fair to say that Halep won’t be the last high-profile tennis player to fail the doping test. Although the players try to keep themselves updated with the newly banned substances, they usually tread a fine line which necessitates strict anti-doping measures, with all the inconveniences it brings to the players doing away with strict doping rules would be an injustice to both fans of the game and the players who follow the doping regulations.

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