Zverev complained that the drug testing agency was too strict and deprived of freedom, and even his three-year-old daughter was implicated

Recently, Zverev expressed his displeasure with strict anti-doping regulations, recounting an incident involving his young daughter, accusing the authorities of depriving players of their freedom.

Zverev has arrived in the Spanish capital for the 2025 Madrid Open after winning in Munich. With world No. 1 Sinner absent, world No. 2 Zverev became the top seed at the tournament. Sinner is currently in the final days of a three-month ban after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Before the start of the tournament in Madrid, Zverev was asked if the players had become more vigilant about doping contamination after the incident at Sinner and Swiatek. He responded that the players are still following the established process, but he himself has some complaints about the inspection process, "It's a frustrating process, to be honest. Zverev said at the press conference.

The world No. 2 explained that while players are required to report their whereabouts to the anti-doping agency on a daily basis, sometimes they have to change their personal arrangements to cooperate with testing outside of the allotted hours. "We spend an hour a day in a particular location and report back to them. But sometimes, if they show up outside of the time you reported, you still have to go back and get tested. Zverev said.

The three-time Grand Slam runner-up revealed that he was in such a situation last December, when he was picking up his then-3-year-old daughter Mera at the airport in Nice, "I picked her up at the airport last December. I was tested at seven or eight in the morning, but they came at nine in the evening and called me and said, 'You have to come back.'" I said, 'I can't do it — I'm picking up a three-year-old.' ’”

"But they said, 'No, you have to come back, whatever happens.' Zverev added, "They're kind of depriving us of the freedom to live a normal life." ”

If a player does not appear in an anti-doping test on time, he or she will receive a "one-time warning", and accumulating three warnings in a one-year period may result in a ban. In recent years, Yimel and Brooksby have been banned for 18 months for not reporting their whereabouts.

Zverev called on anti-doping agencies to take into account the real situation of tennis players while complying with the rules. "If you come to your door within the hour we allotted, that's no problem because that's the rule. But beyond that, we should be given the freedom to live a normal life. He said at the press conference.

"You can't just ask me to drop everything and make time to cooperate with you just because I chose a random time to come to your door. In my opinion, this is unreasonable. Zverev added.

The 28-year-old believes the system needs to be reformed, "The anti-doping regime doesn't dictate that you have to drop everything and come back for testing right away. I don't think that's right. The system should be better and can be changed. ”

As a seeded player in Madrid, Zverev had a first-round bye. He will kick off his main draw with a second-round match against Agut on Friday.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)