On Thursday, there was a first in tennis. It happened at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia. Jakub Mensik was in the middle of his round-robin match with top seed Arthur Fils.
Jakub Mensik tells umpire Nacho Forcadell that was asked to do an antidoping test… *mid match*, during his toilet break after the second set vs. Fils at the NextGen Finals.
Umpire looked shocked. Unreal scenes. pic.twitter.com/d1JrywUjbV
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) December 19, 2024
Mensik took a bathroom break during the match, and at that time, he was told he needed to submit a urine sample for a drug test. American tennis player Chris Eubanks explained on The Tennis Channel that the timing was horrible and likely a misunderstanding.
TC Live discusses Jakub Mensik being asked to take a doping test today during his match. #TCLive | #NextGenATPFinals pic.twitter.com/j9PnuGKQZM
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 19, 2024
Eubanks said he has been tested after matches, win or lose. The people who administer the tests are not the same in each city; they are locals. Eubanks believes that when Jakub Mensik took the bathroom break mid-match, the person likely thought the match ended.
It made for an odd moment for Jakub Mensik who informed the chair umpire of the situation when he returned to the court. He was visibly agitated and though he was already behind in the match, he lost in three sets (best of five set format, with sets won with four games, not six).
The Next Gen ATP Finals feature the world’s best 20-and-under tennis players. Mensik is a 19-year-old Czech player who turned pro in 2022. He is ranked 48th and has a 28-18 win-loss record in 2024. Mensik is the third seed at this eight-person event. On Friday he faces Brazilian Joao Fonseca who is the eighth seed
