Rafael Nadal
Tennis - Monte Carlo Masters - Monaco, 13/04/2016. Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a shot to Aljaz Bedene of Britain. Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Rafael Nadal is in fighting form not just on the tennis court, but this time to a tribunal against former French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot.

Fresh from his wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, the 14-time Grand Slam champion has announced that he’s taking legal actions against Bachelot for her doping allegations against him. On Monday, Nadal filed a defamation lawsuit before the Paris courts, making good of his earlier promise to take Bachelot to court.

“This legal proceeding was instigated after Bachelot made offensive remarks last March on Le Grand 8 programme of French channel D8,” Nadal said in a statement, according to The Guardian. “Through this case, I intend not only to defend my integrity and my image as an athlete but also the values I have defended all my career. I also wish to avoid any public figure from making insulting or false allegations against an athlete using the media, without any evidence or foundation and to go unpunished.”

The 29-year-old tennis champion said that any compensation from the case will go fully to an NGO or foundation in France. He added that he gives his complete trust in the French justice system, and he will not be making any further statement since the legal procedure has started.

In March, Bachelot accused Nadal of missing the Tour 2012 in order to hide his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Her statement came on the heels of Maria Sharapova’s public admission that she failed a drug test during the 2016 Australian Open.

[READ: “Maria Sharapova is 7th athlete to have tested positively for meldonium”]

“We know that Nadal’s famous seven-month injury was without a doubt due to a positive [drug test],” Bachelot was quoted saying, according to an article by ESPN. “When you see a tennis player who stops playing for long months, it is because he has tested positive and because they are covering it up. It is not something that always happens, but, yes, it happens more than you think.”

“I am a completely clean guy. I have never had the temptation of doing something wrong. When I get injury, I get injury. I never take nothing to be back quicker,” Nadal told ESPN.

Nadal, who has never failed a drug test, admitted that he has heard such accusations before. Prior to Bachelot, former French Open champion Yannick Noah in 2011 and former Belgian pro Christophe Rochus in 2013 have made similar doping allegations against Nadal.