At Roland Garros,
Beatriz “Bia” Haddad Maia took a long time to find her place in the elite of women’s tennis, but here she is finally established. The 27-year-old Brazilian had never passed the second round of a Grand Slam tournament before the start of the fortnight, nor played on the Philippe-Chatrier before the previous round. And there it is, entering the WTA top 10 next week. In the meantime, she stands in front of the queen of places, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros. A bug in the matrix, an anomaly? Rather the end of trouble for the Paulista, who is celebrating ten years of her first victory on the WTA circuit. Since then, a succession of confusions – including a majority of injuries – has delayed the ascent promised to the heiress of Guga.
- 2013: Shoulder injury following a fall on the pitch + herniated disc. Four months off
- 2015 : Barely time to go up the slope that Bia hurts her shoulder again. She underwent a new operation and stopped for six months.
- 2017: She is the victim of a domestic accident at the dawn of the WTA season. Balance sheet, three fractured vertebrae, just over a month off.
- 2020 : The Brazilian must undergo surgery to remove a tumor in her left hand and misses the qualifications for the 2021 Olympics.
So many “difficult moments” mentioned by Beatriz Haddad Maia in a post-victory conference against Ons Jabeur on Wednesday. “I had 4 operations. I had fractures in the shoulder, back. I had to stop 6 or 7 times and each time 4 months. “Only one episode, reduced to a sentence both expeditious and enigmatic (“I also had to stop playing for a year”), is eluded: his ten-month suspension for a positive doping control in 2019. A result that She has always contested, swearing to have “never sought to obtain an unfair advantage” and “always respected fair play”.
Involuntary doping, instructions for use
His lawyers had at the time succeeded in proving that it was involuntary doping by cross-contamination. In other words, an error in the manufacturing process on the part of the pharmacy which supplied him with food supplements, explaining the presence of two different anabolics where they should never have been. “It can happen accidentally even in a very supervised environment,” adds Gérard Dine, a doctor specializing in doping-related issues. If the athlete succeeds in proving his good faith, the remission of sanction is then considered – this is the case of Bia, who risked four years of suspension. Without that being enough to be whitewashed completely.
Because the authorities no longer grant their pardon as easily as in the past in similar cases. From now on, athletes declared positive because of prohibited substances in food supplements are considered entirely responsible, as explained by the way to closet Bichara Neto, lawyer for Bia Haddad.
“Over time, cases of cross-contamination have increased dramatically, to the point that the ITF has issued warnings for athletes in South America. So they can’t pretend to ignore [les risques] since the AMA warns them against it. You cannot therefore pretend not to know that you are at risk of contamination. »
Why is WADA specifically warning South American athletes about their dietary supplements? In recent years, in Brazil alone, several players, including Thomaz Bellucci, have suffered similar suspensions in comparable cases. According to Gérard Dine, “these are countries where food supplements are trafficked before being sold on the Internet, with channels that resemble those of drug traffickers. And where the food supplement market is therefore much less certain with regard to anti-doping regulations. “But we could cite other areas of the globe,” says the doctor. Africa, Southeast Asia, and some Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria or Romania are also risk areas. »
Tennis not sufficiently sensitized on food supplements?
Romania is precisely the scene of the most recent and publicized case of alleged involuntary doping by contamination, that of Simona Halep. The former world number 1 and winner of Roland-Garros, has been suspended since last October after being tested positive for roxadustat, a prohibited substance which she also denies having “consumed in conscience”.
Assuming that the Romanian’s innocence is proven, the rigor of the entourage of tennis players with regard to supplements, even at the highest level, is to be questioned according to Gérard Dine: “Tennis is in delay. In professional team sports teams, for example, it is hyper protocolized. You often have a person in charge of dietary supplements who checks their origin. Staff even sign contracts with manufacturers, obliging them to results, with the possibility of legal and financial measures in the event of a positive control. In tennis, specific training courses have recently been set up for physical trainers and physiotherapists, in order to draw attention to the environment of food supplements, the fact that they constitute a gateway for doping involuntary and risk-taking in the event of non-verification of their origin. »
Beatriz Haddad Maia was arrested for ten months because of a mistake. And even more, if we count the pandemic which picked it up in stride. Which forced him to resume through minor tournaments. “It’s difficult to improve your level when you come back and when you play in Futures or Challengers tournaments, the level is different. Not to mention the image deficit caused by such a misadventure. “I received a lot of criticism, she testified to UOL Esporte. People were no longer by my side. Four years later, they returned to see her succeed Gustavo Kuerten. And forget, once and for all, past misadventures.