ITIA Press Release, December 29, 2021
The Tennis Integrity Supervisory Board, made up of independent directors and representatives from the governing bodies of tennis has unanimously confirmed that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) will take on responsibility for the sport’s anti-doping programme from 1 January 2022.
Previously the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme was overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The move will see integrity matters in the sport concerning doping and corruption jointly come under the auspices of the ITIA, which is an independent body funded by the governing bodies of tennis. Nicole Sapstead was appointed in May 2021 as Senior Director, Anti-Doping and will oversee the programme for the sport. The move was presented as an option by the Independent Review Panel report of 2018 and confirmed in principle by the International Governing Bodies of the sport in 2019.
Jennie Price, Chair of the Tennis Integrity Supervisory Board said, “Having one fully integrated organisation working on both anti-doping and anti-corruption creates a major opportunity for the sport. Shared intelligence and shared resources will make us more efficient, and most importantly, more effective. This is the result of a great deal of planning in the last twelve months to ensure we are ready to hit the ground running on 1 January. The independence of the ITIA is crucial when it comes to integrity matters and tennis can be proud that it is leading the way.”
David Haggerty, President of the ITF said, “This is a really important moment for tennis. As a sport, we committed to more transparency and complete independence for the way the doping and anti-corruption programmes are managed. We have worked closely with the ITIA to ensure a seamless handover of responsibilities and we look forward to supporting their efforts moving forward.”
All professional players will be contacted jointly by the ITF and ITIA in the coming weeks to confirm the move and provide further details of the changes to the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme and updates to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited substances list. From 1 January 2022, the ITIA website will integrate all Tennis Anti-Doping Programme information.
In addition to finalising the integration of anti-doping, the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program rules for 2022 were also agreed by the Tennis Integrity Supervisory Board. The rules now include a “prohibited association” clause, mirroring the anti-doping regulations. This means that players, coaches or officials who have been sanctioned for anti-corruption offences can no longer have any sporting or professional association with participants in the sport whether inside or outside of sanctioned events. In addition, there is more scope for investigations to cross over between codes to allow evidence from Anti-Corruption cases to be used in Anti-Doping investigations and vice versa.
The Board also agreed a budget of $15.8m for the ITIA’s operations in 2022 to cover both anti-corruption and anti-doping efforts. This represents the sport’s highest-ever investment into integrity.
