In Light of the Recent Doping Debacle in Tennis, Serena Williams’ Former Coach Voices His Opinion (Exclusive)

There have always been a lot of discussions going on about doping tests that have lately affected both tours. The likes of Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep have dealt with the doping ban after testing positive for consuming prohibited substances. In an exclusive interview with ES Fancast, Serena Williams‘ childhood coach, Rick Macci, sheds light on these highly contentious stories.

Even the players who do not test positive seem to have an issue with how the testing is going on in the sport. Recently, it was the case with Novak Djokovic, as he criticized the scheduling of these tests after being asked to undergo a dope test shortly before his match at the Davis Cup. All these controversies have now promoted the legendary American coach to speak candidly about his views on the doping dilemma in tennis.

Serena Williams’ childhood coach issues an honest take on the doping tests controversies

In an exclusive episode of the ES Fancast, the legendary American coach was asked to shed light on the doping test procedure and structure. While saying that there shouldn’t be one of those gotcha-type things, Rick Macci opened up about how the procedure needs to be ‘structured better’.

He said, “First off, I don’t have any insight, but just looking from the outside of the whole thing, it needs to be structured better. It shouldn’t be one of those gotcha-type things, you know, players like ‘what’s going on.’ But none of the players are going to say, ‘Yeah, I was doing it,’ you know, ‘I’m busted; here’s video evidence of me doing something.'”

While dissecting the doping dilemma in tennis, the seven-time USPTA national coach highlighted that it has been the same case in other sports as well, including football and basketball. Macci said, “So, it’s such a gray area, and you see that in football, basketball, and you see it in all sports. Unfortunately, there are a lot of common threads with medications and subtle things, even vitamins, that could affect this.”

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The American coach went on to talk about his suggestion that the authorities need to make it more streamlined and structured instead of a ‘sneak attack.’ He added, “So, I don’t think much about it, but I think they got to get it more streamlined so everybody knows what’s going on and the playing field is level.”

Macci continued, “But then again, if someone’s doing something illegal, they should know there’s a possibility that if they get tested, there are going to be repercussions. So, it cuts both ways, but I think there has to be something with more discipline and structure, instead of like a sneak attack you know from around the corner.”

What do you think of the legendary tennis coach’s honest take on the recent controversies surrounding doping tests? Let us know in the comments section.

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