by ROME – Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner said he was “very disappointed and also surprised” after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to clear him of wrongdoing following two positive drug tests.
The Montreal-based body known as WADA announced it wants a one- to two-year ban for the US Open champion, but indicated it does not intend to retroactively date any ban – which would mean that Sinner could retain his second Grand Slam title. even if he is found guilty.
The appeal to the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) means the case may not be resolved before Sinner begins defending his Australian Open title in January. Sinner can continue playing while the appeal is heard.
The announcement was made as Sinner was on court against Roman Safiullin at the China Open in Beijing.
“Of course I am very disappointed and also surprised by this call, to be honest, because we have had three hearings. All three hearings turned out very positive for me,” said 23-year-old Sinner after beating Safiullin.
“You know, I didn’t expect it. I knew a few days ago that they would appeal, that it would become official today, so… it’s a surprise,” the Italian added. “Maybe they just want to make sure everything is in the right position.”
Sinner tested positive for an anabolic steroid twice in March but was not banned in an independent tribunal decision announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency last month as the ITIA determined he was not to blame.
Sinner’s accepted explanation was that the banned performance enhancer inadvertently entered his system through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray of the steroid to treat his own cut finger.
“WADA believes that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was incorrect under the applicable rules,” WADA said in a statement. “WADA aims for a period of exclusion of one to two years. WADA does not seek to disqualify results other than those already imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
WADA suggested the rules were not being properly enforced, despite the fact that tennis integrity organization prosecutor Nicolas Zbinden – who accepted Sinner’s version of events – is a lawyer who regularly works on high-profile cases for the global watchdog, including the successful appeal against Russia’s figure skater Kamila. Valieva.
“It is difficult to see what will be gained by asking another group of three judges to look again at the same facts and documentation,” Sinner later said in a statement.
“That said, I have nothing to hide, and as I have done all summer, I will fully cooperate with the appeal process and provide whatever may be necessary to prove my innocence again,” Sinner added.
A decision on appeal to CAS could come quickly – even within just a few months – if the parties agree to work together. At least that’s how it worked in another high-profile tennis doping case involving Maria Sharapova.
Sharapova tested positive for the recently banned heart drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January 2016. In June of that year, she was suspended for two years by the International Tennis Federation.
The Russian star appealed to CAS, had a hearing in New York before three judges in September and received the verdict four weeks later that reduced her ban to 15 months.
Sharapova’s entire trial with CAS lasted just four months – much shorter than most doping cases, which typically last about a year. The timeline can become bogged down by the complexities of choosing a jury, finding a date for the hearing, and exchanging documents and evidence from expert witnesses.
At the hard court event in Indian Wells, California in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that has ophthalmic and dermatological uses. It’s the same drug that San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended by Major League Baseball in 2022.
Sinner tested positive again eight days later in an out-of-competition sample.
Because of those test results, he was provisionally suspended twice by the tennis integrity body, but he successfully appealed twice to an independent judge and was allowed to continue on tour.
Sinner said his test results came about because his fitness trainer in Italy purchased an over-the-counter spray called Trofodermin that contained Clostebol and gave it to Sinner’s physical therapist to treat a cut on the physical therapist’s finger. The physiotherapist then treated Sinner without wearing gloves.
Sinner said the amount of banned substance he tested for was “.000000001.”
The ITIA said it accepted Sinner’s explanation, after ten interviews with the player and his entourage, and the independent panel agreed at a hearing on August 15.
The tennis integrity body’s decision ordered Sinner to forfeit the $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points he earned at the tournament in Indian Wells.
Sinner later announced that he had fired his two trainers.
“We have a lot of confidence in (CAS), which should have the final say in the matter,” said Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. “I am confident that the only impact of WADA’s call will be positive. Because it will formalize his innocence.”
