Alexander Zverev slams doping control authorities for taking freedom away from the players

Zverev recounted a particularly frustrating incident that occurred in December, when he was scheduled for a test at 7 a.m., but the doping officials arrived 14 hours later, at 9 p.m. “I was picking up my daughter from the airport,” he said. “They came at 9 p.m. and told me I had to come back. I’m like, I can’t — I’m picking up a three-year-old child.”

The German Olympic gold medalist expressed frustration at the lack of flexibility and empathy shown by doping authorities. 

“They’re taking the freedom of life away a little bit. If you want to come within the hour, that’s cool because that’s the rule,” he said. “But then after that, you have to give us that freedom of living, you know.”

Zverev emphasized that while players accept the necessity of drug testing to ensure fairness in the sport, the system’s lack of consideration for real-life circumstances crosses a line. 

“Just because you decided to show up at a random time and not the time slot that you’re given, doesn’t mean that I have to completely change my plans and leave everything,” he added. “That’s not right. That system has to change.”

His comments have continued a broader discussions about the balance between maintaining clean sport and respecting athletes’ personal boundaries and privacies.