JULY 11 - LUCOZADE SPORT and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body for British tennis, have unveiled a new partnership that they claim offers a range of safe and effective sports nutrition products that will ensure the country's top players do not test positive for drugs.

 

A number of leading sportsmen and women have tested positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs after ingesting them by mistake in supplements.

 

Lucozade Sport will supply the governing body with a range of contaminant-tested sports nutrition products.

 

The products will play an integral role in the preparation, performance and recovery of elite players from training sessions and tournaments, the LTA claimed.

 

The partnership also provides British Tennis members with a discount on the range of Lucozade Sport high performance products.

 

"Lucozade Sport is the leading supplier of sports nutrition products in this country," said Steven Martens, player director at the LTA.

 

"Optimum nutrition and hydration are vital for tennis players to perform at their peak, and we look forward to working with Lucozade Sport to continue to help improve the performance of all our players.

 

"This partnership reflects the recent changes at the LTA and will help improve performance across all levels of the game, from national competition through to international events."

 

The partnership will run for an initial two year period with Lucozade Sport working closely with the LTA Player Support team and providing products and sports science support to all events in the British Tennis calendar, including the ATP event at The Queen’s Club, the WTA event held in Birmingham and the combined ATP / WTA event to be staged in Eastbourne in 2009.

 

Nick Morgan, the lead sport scientist at Lucozade Sport, said:, "In a commitment to build on our involvement in tennis and help develop the talents of Britain’s elite tennis players, we are delighted to be supporting the LTA.

 

"Lucozade Sport is uniquely placed to actively address the nutritional needs and contamination concerns of tennis players by batch testing our products to ensure that they do not contain WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)-listed prohibited substances or compounds.

 

"We look forward to establishing a close relationship with the LTA so that we can ensure we continue to develop products that help maximise tennis performance at all levels."