Welcome to our supplements guide. Here, players, coaches, and support staff will find all of the resources needed to make good decisions about supplement use.
We recognise that supplements are used by tennis players following advice from dieticians or physicians. While we do not endorse the use of supplements, we encourage players and their support teams to consider the risk of contamination, and take appropriate precautions to reduce those risks.
We urge players and their support teams to consider the following before consuming supplements:
What are the risks?
A core principle of the World Anti-Doping Code is that of ‘strict liability’, meaning that players hold the ultimate responsibility for the presence of prohibited substances in their system – no matter how it got there.
Whether due to incorrect labelling or contamination during the manufacturing process, supplements can contain prohibited substances. Consumption of these contaminated supplements can lead to a suspension from sport.
What can I do?
There are steps that players and their support teams can take to reduce the risk of ingesting Prohibited Substances through supplements, although there is no way to eliminate it entirely.
Consider the need
Is this supplement addressing a deficiency or providing a sufficiently enhanced benefit to health to outweigh the risk? If so, carry out the additional checks listed below.
Do your research
While there are no guarantees, organisations such as Informed Sport, NSF, and HASTA conduct batch testing of supplements and certifies that those batches that are found to be free of prohibited substances. If your supplement comes from a batch that has been tested, the risk is reduced.
In addition, you can contact the ITIA directly to request information on the ingredients of a particular product.
Click on the link below, or use the ITIA app and select ‘product information request’ to ask a question.
