World No.1 Jannik Sinner has responded to the news of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) appeal against him for the first time concerning two positive drug tests in March.
The Italian defeated Roman Safiullin in the round of 16 in Beijing, marking back-to-back matches in which Sinner has clawed back from a one-set deficit.
Having been informed earlier in the week that WADA would appeal Sinner’s case for “no fault or negligence” found by the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA), the 23-year-old spoke publicly about the matter.
“We cannot control everything. I’m very disappointed and also surprised [by] this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings. All three hearings came out very positively for me,” he said after defeating Safiullin.
“We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. I’m just surprised that they appealed.”
Sinner released a statement shortly after, confirming that he has “nothing to hide” as he attempts to clear his name again.
“I am disappointed to hear that WADA have chosen to appeal the result of my ITIA hearing after the independent judges had exonerated me and deemed me to be innocent,” read the statement.
“Over the past few months and throughout this process there have been three separate hearings in each case confirming my innocence. Several months of interviews and investigations culminated in three senior judges scrutinising every detail through a formal hearing.
“They issued an in-depth judgement explaining why they determined me not at fault, with clear evidence provided and my cooperation throughout.
“On the back of such a robust process, both the ITIA and the Italian anti-doping authority accepted it and waived their rights to appeal.
“I understand these things need to be thoroughly investigated to maintain the integrity of the sport we all love. However, it is difficult to see what will be gained by asking a different set of three judges to look at the same facts and documentation all over again.
“This being said, I have nothing to hide, and as I have done throughout the summer, I will cooperate fully with the appeal process and provide whatever may be needed to prove my innocence once again.
“As the case is now pending before CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport), I won’t comment further.”
The ITIA said in a statement yesterday: “The process was run according to World Anti-Doping Code guidelines; however, the ITIA acknowledges and respects Wada’s right to appeal the independent tribunal’s decision.”
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