HOUSTON, United States (AFP) - Nutritional supplements with safeguards to ensure no contents that would create a positive doping test will be available to ATP players next season, according to tour officials.
A news conference scheduled here Tuesday at the season-ending ATP Masters Cup will announce full details of the plan, to be overseen by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which has bases in Britain and the United States.
"That's positive news for the players," Swiss world number one Roger Federer said. "At least we can rely on something. I don't know if I'm going to use that or not but I think it's good news for a lot of players."
ATP players have been fearful of tainted nutritional supplements since traces of the steroid nandrolone found in urine samples of seven players last year.
The tests led to suspensions that were wiped out because officials believed the supplements given by ATP trainers might have been contaminated.
But in July, the World Anti-Doping Agencuy (WADA) issued a report saying the ATP was too hasty in clearing the seven players, saying later tests on the supplements revealed no trace of contamination.
"Time has shown the theory to have been wrong," the WADA report said.
Britain's Greg Rusedski also failed a drugs test for the banned substance nandrolone last year but was cleared of wrong-doing at an independent tribunal in March.
Argentina's Guillermo Coria, who plays here Tuesday in a round-robin match against Russia's Marat Safin, was suspended for seven months in 2002 for nandrolone. He blames contaminated vitamins for the doping positive.
A player task force working in conjunction with medical experts developed the system. Under the program, players would make direct contact with the supplement provider in a secure manner if the decide to use the products.
US federal drug guidelines would be followed in production of the supplements.
Each lot would be tested in individual batches by World Anti-Doping Agency-approved laboratories used by the International Olympic Committee.
Should a player complain that he tested positive due to tainted supplements, the bottle's contents could be traced to prior tests on the same lot and more testing could be done on products form that lot to double check its purity.
The National Football League announced a similar program of safeguarded supplements here earlier this year at the Super Bowl.
Back in March, Andre Agassi said he stopped taking supplements altogether because of the contamination risk.
And Brazilian veteran Gustavo Kuerten admitted the doping positives had players fearful of taking any sort of nutritional supplements.
"It's very scary at this stage in the locker room," Kuerten said. "Everyone is a little worried and scared."
11/16/2004 - 00:54 GMT - AFP