Jannik Sinner tried to use charm and understatement. Of course, it was all “not ideal” shortly before a Grand Slam tournament, said the Italian at the US Open about the fuss surrounding his two positive doping tests in March. The world number one had to smile himself and quickly became serious again: “I know that I didn’t do anything wrong.”
On Tuesday, the tennis agency responsible, Itia, announced Sinner’s doping acquittal. At his first public appearance since then, all the unanswered questions were in focus. Why did the case only come to light now? What are the consequences? And how will the competitors of the 23-year-old South Tyrolean with his previously flawless image react?
“Happy that it’s finally out”
In March, two doping tests of the Australian Open winner came back positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol. In April, he was suspended twice for a short period as a result, but these were quickly lifted after he appealed. On Monday, an independent court acquitted Sinner of the doping charge, according to the Itia.
“I’m just happy that it’s finally out because it was a relief for me and my team,” said Sinner. He explained that he himself had not made the case public by citing deadlines that he had to respect in the process.
These are the consequences for the future:
- Sinner is no longer being looked after by athletic trainer Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi. “Because of the mistakes, I don’t feel the trust to continue with them,” he said, explaining his decision to part ways. Sinner’s explanation that the banned substance accidentally entered his body during a massage was considered conclusive by the court. According to the statement, Naldi sustained an injury to his finger and treated it with Trofodermin spray, which contains clostebol. Naldi received this spray from Ferrara.
- Sinner will play his first round match against American Mackenzie McDonald on Tuesday. It will be exciting to see how the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium reacts to the 23-year-old.
- The World Anti-Doping Agency WADA will “carefully examine” the decision and reserves the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne if necessary.
This is what other players say about Sinner:
Players such as Nick Kyrgios (Australia) and Denis Shapovalov (Canada), whose best playing years are behind them, had criticized the lack of equal treatment with other professionals after Sinner’s case became known. The Italian’s current top competitors, on the other hand, made few controversial comments in New York.
Alexander Zverev explained that his good relationship with Sinner “would not change” and that he had “no opinion” due to the lack of information. The only thing he found “a bit strange” was that everything had been made public within a day. US professional Frances Tiafoe also stressed: “He is an incredible player and the authorities have made a decision. He is allowed to play. That’s all I have to say about it.” Tiafoe recently lost to Sinner in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.
This is the Itia – and this is what other players say about the anti-doping authority:
The Itia is an organization that is supposed to ensure integrity in tennis and in this function also monitors the anti-doping program. It was set up in 2021 by the professional organizations ATP and WTA, the world association ITF and the four Grand Slam tournaments. Briton Dan Evans, who received a one-year ban in 2017 for a positive doping test for cocaine, expressed his support for Sinner. However, he sees a fundamental conflict of interest due to the structure of the agency.
“The organisation has been thrown together and is pretty amateurish,” said Evans, who had previously made it to 21st place in the world rankings. Small fish are being caught, some big ones are getting away, Evans suggested. “They’re not getting the guys who are number 800 in the world because of drugs and gambling – I think there’s a bigger problem here.”
Source: www.sport.de
