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The anti-doping rules in place at the 2023 Canadian Open have left Belinda Bencic fuming. The Swiss minced no words expressing her displeasure about the same during her post-match press conference at the WTA 1000 event.
Bencic took on Alycia Parks in the second round in Montreal in Wednesday, prevailing in a hard-fought three-setter that lasted nearly three hours. The Olympic gold medalist reached the next round with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win that left both players exhausted.
Bencic, though, had to spend the next 1.5 hours "not being able to pee" because of anti-doping rules. The World No. 13, in fact, could not even eat after the win and had to beg the people in charge to allow her to get a shower and an ice bath.
The 26-year-old revealed her frustration when talking to the press, wondering why she had to have an anti-doping check when she had just won and lamenting about the far-from-ideal recovery process.
"Well, I just spent one and a half hours in anti-doping not being able to pee after a three-hour match, of course. So I don't know what they expect, and I don't know why I have anti-doping when I won," Belinda Bencic said.
"So I just did that. I didn't even eat yet. I'm here now. I had a quick ice bath. I had to beg them to have an ice bath and to have a shower actually. So it's new rules. So, yeah, that's how I recover, I guess. Not ideal," she added.
"I would love to be a flag bearer" - Belinda Bencic on her plans for Paris 2024 Olympics
Belinda Bencic, the reigning Olympic champion, also shared her plans for the upcoming 2024 edition in Paris, saying that she's really excited about her title defense at Roland Garros next year.
Joking that she's already doing her push-ups in the build-up to the event, the World No. 13 admitted that she would be honored to be the flag bearer for Switzerland in the French capital next year.
"Well, I'm doing push-ups (laughing). No, I'm kidding. For tennis players, of course, you have so many tournaments per year, so you prepare the same. I mean, we're not, I don't know, track and field athletes or maybe even, I don't know, figure skaters or someone that the highlight is really on the Olympics," Belinda Bencic said.
"We really play the whole year, and then there's Olympics, and then you continue to play. So, I mean, your training plan stays the same, but obviously my emotions get higher. I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to seeing an Olympics also with a crowd. And, also, I would love to be a flag bearer, so hopefully," she added.
In the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Belinda Bencic beat Marketa Vondrousova to become the first Swiss woman to take home the gold in tennis.
