League Notes: Int'l Tennis Federation Increases Amount Of Drug Testing

There is to be a "significant increase in the amount of drug testing in tennis, and more samples will be stored for future analysis." Up to 8,000 samples will now be taken every year, with those provided by the highest-ranked players the "most likely to be placed in long-term storage." An anti-doping budget increase of over 50% to £3.48M ($4.5M) will help "ensure tennis is and remains a clean sport," the Int'l Tennis Federation said (BBC, 4/28).

Essex County Cricket Club will "support the majority" after a new city-based, eight-team Twenty20 tournament was "given the go-ahead" to start in '20. Essex and Middlesex voted against the proposals, while Kent abstained as 38 of the 41 England & Wales Cricket Board members approved them. An Essex statement read, "Essex County Cricket Club would like it to be known that it fully respects the outcome" (BBC, 4/27).