With Maria Sharapova's positive test for Meldonium dominating the news cycle this week, another tennis star's alleged performance-enhancing drug use is being brought into the spotlight. France's former minister of health and sport, Roselyne Bachelot, dredged up a years-old accusation that Rafael Nadal failed a drug test.
Joining a French television show, Bachelot said Nadal lied about the reason he took time off in the latter half of 2012 and early 2013. Officially, Nadal withdrew from the 2012 Olympics and a number of tournaments in the following months because of knee tendinitis and later an undisclosed illness.
Bachelot said this was not the case, that Nadal had actually failed a drug test. Yannick Noah accused Nadal of PED use in 2011 and Christophe Rochus did so again two years later. But Bachelot also implied taking months-long hiatuses was common practice for tennis pros trying to keep a lid on positive drug tests.
"We know that Nadal's famous seven-month injury was without a doubt due to a positive [drug test]," she said Tuesday. "When you see a tennis player who stops playing for long months, it is because he has tested positive and because they are covering it up. It is not something that always happens, but yes it happens more than you think."
Speaking publicly about Sharapova's surprise admission, Nadal acknowledged he had been following the fallout, which entailed the accusations against him.
"You know what? I heard [about the accusations] a few times again," he said Wednesday. "I am a completely clean guy. I have never had the temptation of doing something wrong. When I get injury, I get injury. I never take nothing to be back quicker."
Spain's Olympic Committee backed up the 14-time Grand Slam Champion, stating Nadal "has been submitted to innumerable anti-doping controls that he has always passed throughout his long career." Miguel Cardenal, president of the nation's Higher Sports Council President, termed Bachelot's comments "slander."
Nadal does not have any failed tests on his record and has been open about undergoing stem cell and platelet therapies to help his ailing knee. He also acknowledged that, like Sharapova, he does not read every email the World Anti-Doping Agency sends him. Like many athletes would admit, he said he leaves those matters to medical officials.
"I want to believe that for sure it is a mistake for Maria, that she didn't want to do it, but it is a negligence so the rules are like this. It's fair, so now she must pay for it," Nadal said. "To be honest I don't read it. I have my doctor that I have confidence in. My doctor is the doctor of the Spanish tennis federation for a lot of years. He is the doctor of all the Spanish tennis players so I have full confidence in him. And I never take anything that he doesn't know."
WADA disclosed Thursday there have been about 60 positive tests for Meldonium since it officially became banned and that these kinds of rashes of positive tests are not uncommon when a substance is banned. WADA Director General David Howman said this was undoubtedly due to neglect.
"The reason for it being on the list is it's being used and has been used to enhance people's performance, and that was the reason for this substance first to be monitored for 12 months," he said. "There was ample warning, if you like, given when it was put on the monitoring list in 2014 for people to say, 'Hey, we have to be careful here.' And they weren't."
