If Rafael Nadal has won 13 French Opens without a shot, it is probably not due to injections that he won the 14th: Director General of WADA

At the recently concluded French Open, Spain's Rafael Nadal rewrote history by winning the title for the 14th time in his career.

Speaking about his recurring foot injury after the final, Nadal revealed that he had been using anesthetic injections and anti-inflammatories throughout the tournament to eliminate pain. Since then, it has become a topic of debate, with a few athletes expressing their concern with such a practice.

In a recent interview with Swiss TV channel RTS, Olivier Niggli, the Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), came out in defense of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. Addressing the issue, Niggli stated that the anesthetic injections do not improve performance and are not forbidden.

"If a product is on the list of prohibited products, it means that it has an effect on performance, that it is bad for health, and that it is contrary to the ethics of sport. Anesthetic injections are not prohibited. It's not an oversight. The question arose. It was discussed. They are not on the list because they do not improve performance and are fundamentally not bad," Niggli said.

Niggli pointed out that Nadal had won the Roland Garros title 13 times previously and hence, didn't need injections to win it for a 14th time.

"Is it a good medical practice? Is it acceptable for an elite athlete to get injections before a match? It's a debate between doctors and a debate about medical ethics. Rafael Nadal has won 14 titles at Roland Garros. If he has won thirteen others without injections, it is probably not due to injections that he has won the 14th," said Niggli.

Nadal has suffered from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a condition that causes severe foot pain and deformity, since the start of his career. He is undergoing treatment to be ready for Wimbledon, but has not yet confirmed his participation at the grasscourt Major.

French cyclists question Rafael Nadal's use of injections during French Open

Rafael Nadal limped off the court at the Italian Open after his chronic foot injury flared up

When Rafael Nadal made public that he used injections on his foot during the French Open, cyclist Thibaut Pinot was among the first to raise concerns.

"Today's heroes," Pinot tweeted in response to a journalist's tweet talking about Nadal's injections.

Soon after, another French cyclist, Guillaume Martin, slammed Nadal, stating that a similar practice by a cyclist would be labelled as "doping".

"What Rafael Nadal did would have been impossible in cycling. Drugs and infiltrations not only have a healing effect, they can certainly improve performance. If a cyclist did the same thing, even if it wasn't forbidden, everyone would fall on him calling him doped," said Martin.