Kuznetsova joins attack on drugs testing rules

By Iain Rogers

MADRID (Reuters) - World number eight Svetlana Kuznetsova has joined other top athletes in condemning drug testing rules that require players to give three months' notice of where they will be for an hour each day.

The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) so-called "whereabouts" rules have been criticised by many professionals, including men's world number one Rafael Nadal and Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva.

With WADA holding its executive board meeting in Montreal on Sunday, the controversial rule is expected to be among the hot topics discussed and Kuznetsova said they should be reworked.

"I don't agree with this rule because it can interrupt your private life," the Russian told Reuters in an interview arranged by the WTA Tour's sponsor Sony Ericsson at the Madrid Open.

"If I am in Moscow for example and one night I decide to go out to my friend's house why should I come back at eight o'clock in the morning to my house to be checked?

"It's very tough. I think they should change."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) supports the regulations but WADA is battling with many sports governing bodies such as soccer's FIFA and cycling's UCI over the issue.

A European Union panel said last month WADA should reassess the rules as many points contravened the bloc's privacy laws.