Tennis: Women stars in drugs claim

Fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in first round action at the Australian Open. Picture / Reuters

MELBOURNE - US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, one of three players at the centre of doping allegations, says she is not a drug cheat and is angry at the Belgian authorities who inadvertently pointed the finger at her.

The world No 5 was caught up in the scandal after the Belgian Minister of Sport, Claude Eerdekens, said an unidentified player had failed a doping test at an exhibition tournament in Charleroi last month.

Only four players took part in the event and Eerdekens said one of them, Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, had been cleared, putting the spotlight on the other three, Kuznetsova and fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, and Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.

All three women have pleaded their innocence and the International Tennis Federation and the Women's Tennis Association say they have not been informed of any positive test.

Kuznetsova, one of the favourites to win the Australian Open, said the trio had been tarnished by the Belgian accusations.

"I think definitely it's unfair," she said after thrashing American qualifier Jessica Kirkland 6-1, 6-1 in the first round yesterday.

"They don't know nothing for sure yet. They don't know what was the thing what player took (sic), and they don't know who."

Kuznetsova maintained her innocence, saying she had been tested 11 times last year, and thought the other players were clean as well.

"Maybe it was a mistake or maybe it was nothing serious," she said.

"I'm pretty sure that everybody's pretty clean . . . because the anti-doping programme, it doesn't allow us to take nothing.

"Even when you're sick, even if somebody had some problems, we cannot take even normal pills that everybody's taking."

The Australian Open has been plagued by doping scandals in the past decade and Tennis Australia President Geoff Pollard said he was unhappy about the latest rumours.

Petr Korda won the 1998 Australian Open and was allowed to defend his title a year later despite being caught using steroids.

Last year's tournament was overshadowed by a doping scandal involving Briton Greg Rusedski, who was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

"I think at the moment it is a premature announcement," Pollard said.

"Obviously their [Belgian] Government did not abide by the protocols. There are processes that then have to take place to prove it is positive."

WTA communications director Darrell Fry said the association was baffled by the report and how it had been leaked to the media.

"We haven't heard anything at all," he said. "This is not the way the tennis anti-doping programme works."

- REUTERS