There must be something about a Saturday for Jannik Sinner and the World Anti-Doping Agency. It was on a Saturday that WADA announced their plan to appeal his doping case and it is on a Saturday that they unexpectedly announced an agreement had been made before any hearing taking place.
Sinner, who has won three out of the last five Grand Slam tournaments, has been banned from the sport for three months for two failed anti-doping tests last year. He twice tested positive for clostebol which was traced back to an over the counter spray that can be purchased in Italy. Sinner’s former physio Giacomo Naldi was using the spray for his hand cut which he then transferred to him through massage. An independent tribunal set up by Sport Resolutions accepted that the tennis star ‘bore no fault’ and issued him with no ban at the time.
Then last September WADA decided to file an appeal to the Court of Arbitrating for Sport (CAS) arguing that Sinner had a degree of fault. A two-day hearing was scheduled for April but an agreement resolution between both parties has been reached. Both the initial investigation into Sinner and the subsequent settlement state that there is no indication that the Italian deliberately took a banned substance.
However, 23-year-old Sinner will likely still have his critics.
The criticism will undoubtedly be the timing of his ban which will end shortly before the Rome Masters, which is the biggest tennis event in Sinner’s native Italy. He will also be free to play at the French Open.
“With Sinner, I want to start first and foremost to say I don’t think there’s any way he has been trying to cheat at any stage. I don’t believe that. However, when I read this statement this morning, it just seems a little too convenient,” former British No.1 Tim Henman told Sky Sports.
“It seems there’s words like ‘agreement’ and it almost seems there’s been a negotiation.
“He just won the Australian Open, to miss three months of the tour and therefore be eligible to play at Roland Garros, the timing couldn’t have been any better for Sinner.
“I still think it leaves a pretty sour taste for the sport…”
WADA had previously outlined that they were appealing for a ban of between one and two years. It appears that the drop to three months is related to section 10.8.2 of WADA’s code concerning Case Resolutions Agreements. If a person admits an anti-doping violation, the period of ineligibility is reduced.
Sinner may not have been using the spray which contained the banned substance but it was being used by somebody who he employed. Therefore he has a degree of responsibility in making sure his team is sticking to anti-doping rules. This is what he accepts.
Throughout the case, there have been questions raised about fairness and double standards when it comes to managing anti-doping cases in tennis. It is hard to directly compare Sinner’s case with others as they are not identical. Although it hasn’t been an ideal scenario when it comes to the sport’s image.
“I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore …,” Stan Wawrinka wrote on social media platform X after news of Sinner’s ban emerged.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios, who has been critical of Sinner’s case, also raised his concerns.
“So WADA come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban. Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3 month ban*,” he wrote on X.
“No titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”
“I know a lot of players that are feeling the same way at the moment so looking to hold live spaces next week so we can talk about it – stay tuned for exact time.”
(*Note – the reduction is linked to 10.8.2 of WADA’s code concerning Case Resolutions Agreements as mentioned earlier in this article)
Amid the criticism, not much has been said about WADA. This agreement guarantees that Sinner receives a ban which they might not have achieved at a CAS hearing. Without the full legal documentation being published by both parties, it is impossible to judge how successful they would have been in securing a longer ban.
In total Sinner will miss a quartet of Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid. His ban ends on May 4th but he is allowed to return to official training on April 13th under Code Article 10.14.2 on the rulebook.
As for the topic regarding fairness in the anti-doping procedures, the focus should be on the current system in place and not on the player who has been given a ban based on this system. This is without a doubt where the argument will be shifting to now.
