Two positive doping tests, but no ban: The acquittal of world number one Jannik Sinner is causing a stir in the tennis world. RTL reporter Felix Görner has a clear opinion on the case.
“For me, that has a very bad taste and is a sign of a lack of transparency,” said the well-connected journalist. “The time period between the incident and the publication is far too long. That leaves questions unanswered, which are dangerous. Why do you cover up a case like this for so long and then come to the conclusion that the accused is innocent? That is a questionable approach by the tennis authorities.” Felix Görner’s entire assessment of the Sinner case can be seen in the video above.
Sinner’s positive tests date back to the spring, around the ATP tournament in Indian Wells in March. The 23-year-old Italian was found to have the banned anabolic steroid clostebol twice. It was not until Tuesday, around five months later, that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced the incident.
“This should have been clarified and published more quickly,” criticized Görner. “It is also strange that there were two positive tests, so it is a repeat case. This is very explosive because it concerns the world number one.”
As such, Sinner has a “role model function” and represents the sport of tennis. “Associations are often tempted to keep the truth under wraps for far too long,” said the long-time RTL reporter and sports expert.
Tennis competitors also criticize
According to the ITIA, Sinner did not dope intentionally or negligently. Rather, he was treated by a physiotherapist who had previously used an ointment containing clostebol on a wound on his hand. This resulted in “unwitting transdermal contamination,” as the statement said.
There were some critical voices from tennis rivals. “Ridiculous whether it was an accident or not,” wrote Australian Nick Kyrgios on X (formerly Twitter): “You should be banned for two years. Your performance has improved.”
Canadian Denis Shapovalov was also unenthusiastic about the way the Sinner case was handled: “I can’t imagine what other players banned for contamination with banned substances are feeling right now.”
Source: www.sport.de
