Steroids, Anyone?Tennis is one of the few sports that hasn't been tainted by doping scandals. Can any sport possibly be that clean?

You suggest that tennis as a sport might benefit most from doping due to its reliance on many athletic factors. You are forgetting, however, the most important factor in tennis, which is skill and coordination. The most doped up, naturally athletic person in the world would have a 0% chance of beating a 16-year old female junior tennis champion. In fact, the match wouldn't even be close.

Of course natural athleticism gives you an edge once the skill and coordination factors are similar between opponents (think Nadal). But if it benefitted you that much, then all of the top players in the world would be extremely fast, strong, visually athletic, and extreme endurance freaks. That just isn't the case. Take a look at Federer for example. Definitely athletic, but would he even have a chance in a sprinting or weight lifting contest? Nope. And yet, still one of the best in the world, due to skill at the game.

-- FirstInLastOut
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Drugs may be a factor in the degradation of style and technique in tennis over recent decades. For a hundred years, Western grips and two-handed backhands were considered highly unorthodox and even incorrect technique, in part because they required more running (less lateral reach), required more squatting to pick up the low balls, and required more energy to heave the rackets sharply upward to lift the ball over the net. (The advantage is that they facilitate greater topspin.)

But nowadays Western grips and two-handed backhands have become standard. It may be that drug-induced fitness is enabling players to enjoy the advantages of these hitting styles without paying the penalty of early exhaustion. Their success belittles the authority of generations of authors of tennis how-to books, and reduces young players' respect for (the ability of) their elders.

-- fsilber
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