I Would Take Drugs, Becker Says, if Others in Tennis Did

BONN —  Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Boris Becker said he would take performance-enhancing drugs if other top tennis players took them, making doping necessary to stay at the top.

The world’s second-ranked player, competing in the Australian Open in Melbourne, said in an interview with the West German magazine Sports that, although tennis is clean, he understands why many athletes in other sports resorted to drugs.

“If Lendl kept beating me because he was taking steroids, I would take them too, I mean that,” Becker was quoted as saying.

“I would try to make sure we were competing on an equal basis. That’s what it’s all about. Otherwise I would just pack it all in straight away.”

Becker, whose statements are certain to disappoint officials and athletes trying to clean up their sports, said drugs are not a problem in tennis because players need a variety of qualities including strength, stamina, speed and mobility.