'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Former top-80 player Kamil Majchrzak's coach Marcel du Coudray recently opened up about his harrowing experience of dealing with the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency), calling out the organization for "bullying" athletes.
Majchrazk received a suspension from tennis in 2022 after testing positive for three prohibited susbstances at the end of the season. Later, the Pole proved that the positive result was because of a contamination in his new isotonic drinks, which he was suggested to take by a reputed dietician.
Nevertheless, the ITIA upheld a 13-month suspension for the former World No. 75, arguing that the ultimate responsibility for what an athlete put into their body should rest with the athlete themselves.
After sitting out the entire 2023 season, Majchrazk is on his comeback trail and has risen to World No. 440.
In an exclusive interview with Ubitennis, his coach shed light on how they were treated by ITIA, revealing that the agency outright told them that the Pole was to be made an example out of.
This attitude came as a shock to Majchrazk and Marcel du Coudray, as they believed they had "overwhelming" proof in their favor.
"The ITIA tried to imply that because he failed four tests, he was more guilty even though we could prove the contamination. They said to us, ‘We want to make an example out of Kamil,'and they didn’t care."
“We felt comfortable with our case and told the ITIA that we were prepared to take the ITIA to CAS. The scientific evidence required to explain the findings of 4 positive tests (with 3 different contaminants) in 5 weeks is much higher than just a one off test.
"In addition, the amounts detected were microscopic, at least 1000 times less than required to begin to have any effect. Given this overwhelming proof, we were astounded by ITIA’s attitude towards the case,” Marcel du Coudray said.
When they told the ITIA that they were willing to take up the case with the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport), Du Coudray revealed that ITIA went silent for weeks and simply delayed answering their questions.
This, as conveyed to them by their lawyers, is a legit tactic used by the tennis anti-doping body in many cases - dealying the process and forcing the players to submit to their will.
Du Coudray referred to ITIA as a bully for such tactics and making use of an unfair process to impede athletes in their career, as the shelf-life of a tennis player is not too long.
"They went silent for a number of weeks, they wouldn’t reply to anything, or simply delayed answering. Our lawyers had said that they often do this if you want to take them on.
"They give you no option. They make you an initial offer to agree to a sanction, but if you want to go to CAS, they’re going to delay the process so much longer that you would have been better off accepting the initial offer," Marcel du Coudray said.
"There’s no question about it. The ITIA bullies athletes into accepting these punishments. They don’t particularly care how long the cases take because it doesn’t matter to them. Athletes are entitled to a fair hearing but there is no way that this process is fair. Athletes are in a race against time, it’s their time, and it’s their career time that has a very finite duration," he added.
"The ITIA's tone also pressures you into accepting their offered sanction" - Kamil Majchrzak's coach Marcel du Coudray
Marcel du Coudray went on to state his displeasure with the way the International Tennis Integrity Agency handles sanctions, pointing out how the body has a much larger budget than players and often pressures players into accepting their offer.
In fact, Du Coudray revealed that he and Kamil Majchrzak did not even discuss whether they could beat the ITIA or not, as they had all the proof they needed to show innocence.
Instead, they were more concerned by whether they should accept the length of the suspension that was going to be "forced" on them.
"The ITIA has an infinite number of days. They can take as long as they want, and I want to say that they have a much larger budget because they’re playing with somebody else’s money, it’s not their own," Marcel du Coudray said.
“Their tone also pressures you into accepting their offered sanction. We weren’t really discussing with them whether we could beat them or not – Kamil was able to prove his innocence and prove beyond any doubt that it was accidental contamination.
"It was whether we wanted to accept the length of time that they would force us into," he added.
