The life of a professional tennis player is not as simple as it might seem. In addition to having to travel for many weeks during the year, players are required to constantly update the authorities on their whereabouts so that they can carry out the necessary checks.
It is a very demanding routine quite stressful, as former world number 6 Matteo Berrettini also told on the latest edition of the ‘Tintoria’ podcast. The Italian ace – who reached the final at the Wimbledon Championships four years ago – is now almost a veteran of the ATP tour and has had numerous experiences.
Interviewed by Stefano Rapone and Daniele Tinti, the 28-year-old from Rome explained that it is not easy to live with the routine related to doping controls: “This morning I had to wake up at 6.40 AM to do a check. It’s not easy to live with this. We have an app that we must always keep updated, through which we communicate where we are.
Doping controls are done very seriously and they have to watch you during the urine test to prevent you from cheating.”
In this regard, Matteo told a bizarre anecdote: “Once I had just arrived in China and I was still stunned because of the time difference, but I was immediately called for the doping test.
Unfortunately, the glass in which I had put my urine fell and it was a disaster. My luck was that I had made so many that I still managed to fill the glass.”
Berrettini is rising
Berrettini is back in the Top 30 of the ATP ranking thanks to the good results obtained in the last month, in which he reached the quarterfinals in both Doha and Dubai.
The Italian had hoped to get a better result in the first Masters 1000 of the season, but his run in Indian Wells ended against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.
Matteo had put ‘Tsitsi’ in serious difficulty in Dubai forcing him to the third set, while in California the Greek’s victory was very clear also due to the really slow conditions.
Tennis World USA