Nadal wins doping defamation case

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal won a defamation case against France’s former health and sports minister Roselyne Bachelot on Thursday after she accused him of doping in a television interview.

Bachelot was handed a 500-euro ($600) fine by a Paris court and ordered to pay 12,000 euros ($14,168) in damages and legal fees to the serial Grand Slam winner over the allegation made to the D8 channel in 2016.

Nadal expressed his “utmost respect and confidence in the French legal system” after the ruling.

“When I decided to go to court it was not only to defend my own reputation as a sportsman but also to defend the values I have always held throughout my career,” Nadal said in a statement.

“The motive as I said at the time was never about money,” he added.

Bachelot, who was minister for health from 2007-2010, alleged that Nadal had faked an injury in 2012, when he missed the final six months of the season due to knee problems, in order to hide a positive drug test.

The holder of 16 Grand Slam titles has never failed a drugs test and denies ever using banned substances.

He had sought 100,000 euros ($118,000) in damages and explained last year that he had decided to take legal action to set an example, having previously ignored allegations against him.

His lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, told the court in October that the doping accusation could have had “major consequences” for Nadal’s sponsorship deals.