Rafa Nadal

[Andynonomous]

...
the approved negative tennis forum topics are match fixing or draw rigging. the whole subject of doping is taboo.

Tell me about it. I just got a warning from Menstennisforums.com for nothing more than including the following link in one of my postings.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=380770

That link only indicates what pros that the fans believe are doping.

The tennis media and forums are VERY strong in keeping up the Omerta.

 

[ksmith]

Tell me about it. I just got a warning from Menstennisforums.com for nothing more than including the following link in one of my postings.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=380770

That link only indicates what pros that the fans believe are doping.

The tennis media and forums are VERY strong in keeping up the Omerta.

Thanks for the link, some of the comments are mind boggling. Must be magic to live in tennis "world".

Not being nosey (I am), is it possible you could show the warning you received?

Maybe you should tell Menstennisforums.com about the "clinic" for people who may not believe the spin put out by the tennis lot. Loads of sports covered, none sacred.

 

[Andynonomous]

Thanks for the link, some of the comments are mind boggling. Must be magic to live in tennis "world".

Not being nosey (I am), is it possible you could show the warning you received?

Maybe you should tell Menstennisforums.com about the "clinic" for people who may not believe the spin put out by the tennis lot. Loads of sports covered, none sacred.

I got a warning for "Spam", because I included a link to another forum. Of course, they do not enforce this "rule", unless they don't like the content of the link.

It just so happens that they delete/edit posts that have anything to do with doping, whether they include external links or not. So the real reason that I got a warning was because I am letting the fanboys and fangirls know that most tennis fans suspect that the top players are doping.

 

[ksmith]

I got a warning for "Spam", because I included a link to another forum. Of course, they do not enforce this "rule", unless they don't like the content of the link.

It just so happens that they delete/edit posts that have anything to do with doping, whether they include external links or not. So the real reason that I got a warning was because I am letting the fanboys and fangirls know that most tennis fans suspect that the top players are doping.

What a bunch of a***holes.

 

[OneRaceWonder]

Soderling has mono

So...Soderling has mono...like Federer, Roddick, Mario Ančić and several others players in the past.

Makes me wonder why.....

 

[Gingerale]

Tell me about it. I just got a warning from Menstennisforums.com for nothing more than including the following link in one of my postings.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=380770

That link only indicates what pros that the fans believe are doping.

The tennis media and forums are VERY strong in keeping up the Omerta.

yep. not surprised. and i thought that was a rather mellow tennis forum. i've read that one but only played their "suicide bracket." tennis-x.com claims to have a more tolerant forum. i notice posters don't get booted for mentioning doping but the fanboys and girls will swarm you. i mainly joined to do their bracket challenges for masters 1000's and grand slams.

soderling has mono? i'm not keeping up

and yep again...i have wondered about the mono in tennis.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

I got banned on the Guardian's site after I posted a question in their Wimbledon blog asking what the dope testing regime was for the tournament.

Journalists are even more in on omerta (or they are just very stupid) than in cycling.

 

[Andynonomous]

I got banned on the Guardian's site after I posted a question in their Wimbledon blog asking what the dope testing regime was for the tournament.

Journalists are even more in on omerta (or they are just very stupid) than in cycling.

The journalists know what is going on. They drop hints ("that player is a beast", "he is a physical specimen", "he got fit in the offseason", "he keeps improving and improving late into his career", "where did he get that new serve", "the players today are much more physical than they were even ten years ago",...).

The former players (ie. John McEnroe), are the most obvious. You can hear John chuckle when he is giving the party line used to hide doping (yes, "chuckle", Novak's improvement, "chuckle" is due to a gluten free diet, "chuckle").

I strongly suspect that journalists talk between themselves about what is going on, but won't be explicit "on air".

Oh, and yes, they are stupid as well.


I got another posting deleted on Menstennisforums.com today. I only asked where Nadal's new serve went (his serve speed went up dramatically for last years US Open, then fell back to it's traditional pace at this year's US Open again). I strongly suspect that he "boosts" in-competition, on off days when it is important to him. Last year, he was going for the "career-slam", at the US Open, so took some more risks to win than he is doing this year.

So, even though I didn't mention doping in my posting, the mods deleted it. That means that the mods at the tennis forums know why Nadal's serve speed dramatically changes from tournament to tournament, yet they are doing everything they can to cover it up.

So, it is obvious, the tennis journalists know that most of the players are juiced, the mods at the tennis forums know that the players are juiced, the clean players know that most of the other players are juiced (they see the performance and body changes up close), the tennis authorities (who have covered up positives) know that the players are juiced, yet no-one says anything.

 

[Benotti69]

It is high time for someone like McEnroe to do a Lemond to the tennis world.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

The journalists know what is going on. They drop hints ("that player is a beast", "he is a physical specimen", "he got fit in the offseason", "he keeps improving and improving late into his career", "where did he get that new serve", "the players today are much more physical than they were even ten years ago",...).

I strongly suspect that journalists talk between themselves about what is going on, but won't be explicit "on air".

Oh, and yes, they are stupid as well.

The same as when Dave Harmon etc describe a performance as 'unbelievable'. It always amazes me how journalists can live with themselves knowing that they are spending their time lying for money.

Mind you, they are the same people who then act 'shocked and outraged' when someone does get popped.

I've only ever met one journalist who wasn't a ****.

The Guardian and BBC sites have the most omerta moderation policies when it comes to discussing doping. Anyone who tries to raise the doping issue gets moderated and banned within an instant.

 

[WillemS]

Without going into all the speculations, does anyone has any info on the Tennis anti-doping program? Has it changed since, say, 2009 (in which leaked documents showed an absence of out-of-competition testing of almost every major player)?

We know the ITF (international tennis federation) does not publish any information regarding testing and results (positive & negative), they even specified that in the federation's regulations. I have read a few comments here that there are no major doping-positives in tennis recently, but actually, all we can say is "we don't know". Players could have had suspensions, but they can just call it an injury or early retirement. No one would ever know it was because of doping.

And that makes me suspicious. There have been some remarkable performances recently, upping serve speed and apparent stamina within weeks combined with exceptional body changes over years, but I am not seeing any investigation or even openly critical thinking. There are certainly not many journalists questioning performances. That lack of transparency can shield any corruption. And I don't like that, as the financial stakes are very high within tennis (career price money is high, $63,657,721 (Federer); $42,747,677 (Nadal) and that's without sponsorship money).

I don't think that in such a doping regime, nationality will be a major factor. Any athlete with money can buy doping products, as the sellers will come to them.

 

[Andynonomous]

Without going into all the speculations, does anyone has any info on the Tennis anti-doping program? Has it changed since, say, 2009 (in which leaked documents showed an absence of out-of-competition testing of almost every major player)?

Tennis's testing regime changed in 2009 as the ITF adopted the "WADA code". As far as I know, there have been no changes since 2009.

Of course, as far as transparency, and number of tests (average of only 1 out of competition test per year), the ITF is only meeting the minimum WADA standards.

 

[WillemS]

Of course, as far as transparency, and number of tests (average of only 1 out of competition test per year), the ITF is only meeting the minimum WADA standards.

What would be the consequences of missing that one test? Just one warning right? I've seen quotes of Nadal saying that he does not fill out his whereabouts when he's at home "because he does not have access to the internet all the time".

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

You might find this blog post interesting

curious-case-of-rafael-nadal

 

[Andynonomous]

What would be the consequences of missing that one test? Just one warning right? I've seen quotes of Nadal saying that he does not fill out his whereabouts when he's at home "because he does not have access to the internet all the time".

You can miss 2 OOC tests every 18 months, with no consequences. Since, for most players, there are not more than 2 OOC tests every 18 months, most players don't have to take ANY OOC tests.


I suspect that Nadal NEVER gets tested in Majorca (where he does most of his training, and likely takes most of his PEDs). "No tengo internet en la casa de mi madre" is an extremely lame excuse by the way, yet the tennis authorities usually cower at the top player's threats (the Williams sisters use similar, and lame excuses for not abiding by the OOC testing rules).

The ITF does most of their OOC tests AT TOURNAMENTS. To save money (it is cheaper to test at tournaments, where all of the players congregate, than send out testers all over the world, where players live), most OOC tests are done immediately before, or after tournaments, while players are still at the venue.

So most of the OOC testing for tennis is done when the player is NOT IN TRAINING (where much of the PEDs are administered), and most tennis players NEVER have to take an OOC test, and the ITF reserves the right to NOT tell the public which players are missing their tests.

Source :
http://tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com/2010/02/time-to-drop-hammer.html


As I have said, the tennis authorities are doing everything they can to NOT catch the cheats (then they claim tennis is clean, because so few players get caught).

 

[WillemS]

(...)

Thank you for clarifying this matter, it is exactly as I suspected.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Since Andy mentioned the Williams sisters, anyone watching the US Open right now? Serena is an absolute monster. Her arms and legs look like they belong on Ray Lewis.

 

[Parrulo]

You might find this blog post interesting

curious-case-of-rafael-nadal

ty MJM this was a very good read

 

[DirtyWorks]

Thanks for the link.

Another perfect storm: WILD swings in performance from the athlete and a federation that manages positives away with policy and plain old hiding.

Doper in a sport loaded with doping and a federation enabling it all.

 

[WillemS]

Yeah, I know that blog for a time. They're just overly accusing, in my eyes. (A bit like the thing I tried to describe in my thread about automatic convictions a week or two back.) I do think that tennis has a big doping problem, as a real anti-doping program is missing. I just don't want to convict every tennis player on forehand. There should be a clear case to do that. But I am critical of them.

I find it curious that players bulk up by, what they claim, just playing tennis. I, myself, build up muscles pretty easy. Compared to my former training mates, I just exploded by doing the same lifting or riding. But I can't imagine bulking up that much from just playing tennis, without doing any other form of power/muscle training. And even then, you have to be an exceptional case. (You know those guys at the gym? Always on a schedule, some probably taking stuff, pretty much all of them can't even get that much muscle.)

If tennis players (it's not just Nadal) have such an exceptional biology that they build up that much muscle without specific training, we could learn a thing or two from them. Basic physiological stuff, for research purposes.

(A few weeks back, they had the world champs canoeing on Eurosport, followed by a tennis match. And guess what? Those tennis guys were more bulked up than those canoe'ers. It got my skepticism up.)_

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

In some ways the Williams and Nadal are the tennis equivalent of Armstrong c2001. Everyone knows that they are charging but there is a conspiracy of silence from the media, they are protected by the authorities (because their presence in an event is money) and by a raft of fanboys and girls who are unwilling to even imagine that their heroes and heroines are dopers.

Sam Strosur vs Serena Williams... christ on a ****ing bike. Even cycling would be hard pressed to beat a freak show like that.

 

[Andynonomous]

Prediction !

In another forum, I predicted that Nadal's average first serve speed at Wimbledon, would rise for the last two rounds (because tennis uses an elimination format, the last rounds are where the toughest competitors await). I was right.

I believe that Nadal is using in-competition boosting of a fast acting steroid at strategic times where the prestige and need is at the highest, (like the final rounds of the USO, and Wimbledon). It is believed that you can add a few mph to your serve (the serve has a very similar motion to a "throw", like a baseball pitch). Late in his career, Roger Clemens used steroids to add mph to his fastball.

A player's serve is not manageable on a day to day basis. You can't have it peak naturally where you want it to peak. You have on days, and off days. Just like a clean cyclist has good days and bad days, that they can't arrainge ahead of time when they want their best performances. Like Armstrong always peaking at the TDF, Nadal is always peaking at the final rounds of the grand slams.



PREDICTION : Rafael Nadal will have a higher average first serve speed in the final of the 2011 US Open than in any of the first 6 rounds (his average first serve speed in the first six rounds was about 112 mph, peaking out in the first and 6th rounds at 115 mph). So my prediction is that Nadal will have an average first serve speed above 115 mph in the final. You can check it out after the match below (click on "match statistics").

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/draws/ms/index.html?promo=subnav

(note : if Djokovic or Nadal gets injured in the final it could affect Nadal's serve speed)

 

[Señor_Contador]

[...]I believe that Nadal is using in-competition boosting of a fast acting steroid [...]

And what steroid is that?

I'd really, really, really like to hear this one.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

Salbutamol is a very popular drug to take. Opens up the lungs for a quick hit. Easy to take on a 'bathroom break'.

 

[Señor_Contador]

Salbutamol is a very popular drug to take. Opens up the lungs for a quick hit. Easy to take on a 'bathroom break'.

Opening up the lungs is one thing. Adding mphs to your serve is something that takes months, if not years, of carefully-timed PED cycles.

It's the same with cycling.