The questions we asked, and what came back

On 16 August 2026 ASC put six factual questions to the International Testing Agency, the body that delivers the International Padel Federation's anti-doping programme. The ITA answered all six on 21 August, through a named spokesperson, on the record.

We are publishing it whole because the accompanying piece rests on figures and formulations that came from the sport's own testing agency rather than from a critic of it, and the most useful thing to do with a reply of that quality is let a reader read it. One figure, the initial size of a testing pool, is easy to quote badly, and the ITA's own caveat against doing so is in the text below.

Questions in bold are ours. Everything under them is the ITA's, verbatim.

1. Which padel competitions had testing on the ground across the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and are all sanctioned events tested or only some?

Testing is not conducted at every FIP-sanctioned event. The ITA develops the testing program on the basis of an annual risk assessment of padel and, from this, identifies the international events and athletes that should be prioritised for testing.

This assessment is conducted in accordance with the principles of the World Anti-Doping Code and the International Standard for Testing and Investigations.

2. What is the balance between in-competition and out-of-competition testing, and roughly how many tests have been conducted since the program began?

FIP only recently became a Signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code, in July 2026, and its Code-compliant testing program is therefore still at an early stage of implementation.

For this reason, we do not think an interim breakdown of the 2026 testing program would provide a representative picture of the program once fully implemented. Consolidated information on the ITA's 2026 testing activities for FIP, including testing figures, will be made publicly available as part of the ITA's annual reporting in March 2027.

3. Is there a Registered Testing Pool or whereabouts regime for leading padel players, and approximately how many athletes are in it and how do they file?

The ITA is currently establishing a testing pool for international padel players, which will initially include eight athletes. This will support no-advance-notice out-of-competition testing.

The necessary whereabouts processes, including the use of WADA's Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS), are currently being put in place following FIP's recent admission as a Code Signatory. The athletes concerned will receive the relevant information and instructions on their whereabouts obligations directly once the system is operational.

Importantly, inclusion in a testing pool does not define the limits of testing. Athletes who are subject to the applicable anti-doping rules may be selected for testing in competition or out of competition, including without advance notice.

4. Is a Therapeutic Use Exemption process operating for padel under the program?

Yes. A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) process is in place for athletes subject to FIP's anti-doping rules. FIP has delegated the management of this process to the ITA as part of its collaboration agreement with the agency.

5. Since the ITA began delivering the Federation's program, has any anti-doping rule violation been recorded in padel?

No. To date, no anti-doping rule violation has been recorded in padel under the anti-doping program managed by the ITA.

6. Below the top sanctioned tier, at national-open and amateur level, where does the tested tier end?

The scope of the anti-doping rules is broader than the group of athletes whom the ITA prioritises for international testing.

Under the FIP Anti-Doping Rules, athletes who are members of FIP or a national padel federation, or who participate in international events recognised by FIP, may fall within the scope of those rules. For the purposes of the FIP Anti-Doping Rules, International-Level Athletes include athletes in an FIP Registered Testing Pool or Testing Pool, as applicable, as well as athletes ranked within the top 50 positions of the relevant FIP men's or women's rankings.

The ITA uses risk assessment to determine how testing is deployed among athletes and competitions under FIP's international jurisdiction. There is therefore not a single competition level below which anti-doping rules simply cease to apply.

National Anti-Doping Organisations may also test padel players in accordance with the rules and testing strategies applicable within their respective countries.

The reply was signed by Marta Nawrocka of the ITA and received at 14:47 UTC on 21 August 2026. It has been reproduced here in full apart from its greeting and sign-off. The ITA's spelling of "program" is its own and has been left as it was written.