Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have both said they are shocked by the news that tennis authorities covered up Andre Agassi's use of banned drugs.
Multiple Grand Slam winner Agassi said he lied about using crystal meth to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1997 to avoid a ban.
Nadal said: "If the ATP covered for Agassi then I think that's dreadful."
Federer added: "It was a shock when I heard. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more cases in future."
World number two Nadal, who played Agassi twice in his career, said the ATP's decision to take the American on his word without further investigation was a slight on his fellow tennis players.
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It's a way of senselessly damaging the sport
Rafael Nadal on the timing of Agassi's revelations
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"If they covered for the player and punished others for doing the same kind of thing then that would seem to me to be a lack of respect for all sportsmen," the Spaniard added.
Agassi, who won eight Grand Slams and is one of only six men to win all four major titles, said in his autobiography this week that he took the highly addictive drug with a former assistant and then lied to the ATP that his drink had been accidently spiked.
The ATP believed his story and took no action against the Las Vegan who at the time had slumped to 141 in the world rankings despite having three Grand Slam titles already under his belt.
While world number one Federer was equally surprised, he admitted that Agassi, now 39, "has done a lot for tennis, both as a player and as a human being".
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Jonathan Overend's blog
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"Today, he raises millions of dollars for his foundation for disadvantaged children," Federer said.
And former US Open winner Andy Roddick insists his impression of Agassi will not be clouded by the drug use.
"Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for (the) better," Roddick wrote on his Twitter page.
The American world number seven added: "To be fair, when Andre wrote the reported letter, he was well outside the top 100 and widely viewed as on the way out."
Yet Nadal said he could not understand the timing and why Agassi "now that he is retired, comes out and says this".
He said: "It's a way of senselessly damaging the sport."
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), who have since helped tighten up drugs procedures in tennis, are awaiting a response from the ATP who they have asked to "shed light" on the case.
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