Tennis Related - Off Court Serious Issues

[Owendonovan]

If there is food I consider weird for me, then it's weird for me. It's not insulting, and not meant to be insulting. It's just something weird for me. It may not be weird after trying it, or it might remain weird.

[ponchi101]

Weird food: chocolate with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
Problem is: that is like aztecs had it. So they have history on their side.
I always put a good tablespoon of it in my chocolate cake.

[ti-amie]

[dryrunguy]

I can't remember where doping news goes. I guess I'll put this here.
::

Tennis player who used ‘kissing’ as anti-doping defense suspended for four years

A tennis player who used kissing as his defense in an anti-doping case has been suspended for four years.

Gonçalo Oliveira, a Portuguese-born player who represents Venezuela, was provisionally suspended in January after testing positive for methamphetamine in November 2024, at a ATP Tour Challenger event in Manzanillo, Mexico.

After the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) notified Oliveira of his being provisionally suspended, he requested that a woman, whose name is redacted in the ITIA’s full decision in Oliveira’s case, provide a witness statement.

She testified that she met Oliveira at a bar in Manzanillo, and that they “ended up kissing” a little after she “consumed a pill which made me feel euphoria, agitation, confidence to socialize and in the moment a a feeling of energy and joy.” In a later interview with an ITIA investigator, she confirmed this account, but declined to name the drug out of privacy.

Oliveira used her testimony, as well as his own that they spent an extensive amount of time kissing at the bar, during the ITIA’s investigation into his case. When it issued a decision that he should be suspended for four years, Oliveira requested a hearing with an independent tribunal.

After taking into account the testimony of the player and the woman, as well as submissions from experts provided by the ITIA and Oliveira, the tribunal ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, Oliveira did not successfully prove that kissing was the source of amphetamine contamination, and upheld the ITIA’s four-year ban. A director of a doping control laboratory in Québec, Canada, who was cited by the ITIA, said that the amount of methamphetamine in Oliveira’s sample was between “four and 36” times too much to have been transferred by kissing.

Oliveira will be eligible to compete in January 2029, thanks to credit from his time provisionally suspended. He is not the first tennis player to argue that kissing was the source of an anti-doping violation. In 2009, Richard Gasquet was provisionally suspended for testing positive for cocaine, but successfully argued that it was the result of kissing a woman in a Miami nightclub.

James Hansen
by James Hansen
Senior Tennis Editor

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/670716 ... d=18424251

[ti-amie]

But...Gasquet and Pamela

And Yastremska and her hockey player then boyfriend...

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

International Tennis Federation to become World Tennis in 2026

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will become ‘World Tennis’ in 2026, following an overwhelming majority vote from its member national tennis associations in favour of the proposal at the ITF Annual General Meeting today.

Recommended by the ITF Board and Executive, the name change is designed to better reflect the organisation’s role as the sport’s global governing body and guardian, as well as the essential role it plays alongside its member nations to grow and develop tennis worldwide.

The name World Tennis has been chosen following an extensive period of research and interviews with stakeholders across the sport, which confirmed the need for a name that more effectively captured the magnitude of the organisation’s role and relevance to the tennis ecosystem through its 213 member national associations.

The change will provide a clearer identity that is more relevant to players, fans, partners and tennis stakeholders around the world, and brings the brand in line with a majority of sport’s most prominent global governing bodies.

The name change forms part of a gradual evolution of the organisation’s brand which has progressed in recent years with the growth of sub-brands such as the World Tennis Tour and World Tennis Number.

It is also part of a long-term strategy that aims to unlock greater engagement, recognition and investment across all areas of tennis – from grassroots participation to elite competitions.

“After more than 110 years of proud history as the ITF, I’m truly excited for our future as World Tennis as we continue to grow our contribution to the development of the game in all corners of the globe," said ITF President David Haggerty.

"World Tennis better reflects who we are today; the global governing body and guardian of tennis, working hard with our members to deliver tennis for life.

“This evolution follows extensive consultation across the global tennis community and reflects our shared ambition to strengthen, unify and grow the game worldwide. We look forward to revealing our new identity and wider plans in the coming months.”

Founded as the International Lawn Tennis Federation in Paris in 1913, the organisation became the International Tennis Federation in 1977.

The ITF’s trading name will be updated on 1st January 2026, and the new World Tennis brand will be launched in summer 2026 as part of a phased rollout plan.


https://www.itftennis.com/en/news-and-m ... s-in-2026/

[ti-amie]

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

International has the same connotation as "world" so why the change?

[ashkor87]

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

International has the same connotation as "world" so why the change?

how else would they justify all the parties they are having?

[ponchi101]

It is not a big deal, but ITF had legacy behind it.
As long as they do not call it the World Tennis Federation...