The Jannik Sinner doping case has divided the tennis world, with everyone from Nick Kyrgios to the wider tennis community having strong opinions for and against the 23-year-old Italian.
Twice testing positive for Clostebol, a banned substance which was found in a healing spray used to treat his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) before the US Open.
Sinner’s original (and thus far only) argument is that he was accidentally contaminated by the steroid through Naldi, which made the process easier to trace.
Now, with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which sits above the ITIA as the worldwide authority in sports doping, appealing the decision to exonerate Sinner, the world No.1 could face up to two years on the sidelines.
The case will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with Sinner having to defend himself again for a different range of reasons according to WADA.
Fox Sports journalist Courtney Walsh spoke with The First Serve on Monday, indicating what these reasons are.
“They (WADA) accept that he (Sinner) effectively has no fault necessarily but they also say that you should’ve been better placed. You should’ve chosen more wisely the team that was assisting you. You are responsible for your own team as much as you are for what goes into your own body.”
Walsh went a step further to say that Sinner has done all the right things to get his name cleared once again.
“I think if you can point to the fact that it has gone through this amount of hearings, it has gone through these expert panels, that is a tick of approval for Sinner.”
However, Walsh tempered this by stating that “different judiciaries view things differently,” highlighting that the potential outcome of WADA’s appeal is still very much uncertain.
Whether or not Sinner is found guilty, the wider consensus of this case is that it is not good for the tour and for the sport of tennis in general. During the Tennis Channel’s coverage of the WADA appeal, respected desk analyst Prakash Amritraj relayed his concerns and sympathies.
“It stinks. Jannik Sinner is such a brilliant representative of our sport. He’s always carried himself with such high class. I’m sure it’s not easy for him but it’s rough, it’s rough for the sport,” said Amritraj.
Aside from Nick Krygios, who's been highly critical of the ITIA and CAS’s original findings, other notable players have weighed in, including 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, Martina Navratilova.
Recalling its handling of the 23 Chinese swimmers that tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Navratilova was scathing of the anti-doping bodies, including the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) and WADA, who both let the swimmers off the hook.
“This is nuts. WADA is a mess,” Navratilova wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The Chinese swimmers walk and now this? What a bad system we have.”
There’s also an argument floating around that WADA is setting a precedent by appealing Sinner’s doping case, given the US Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) objection to its acquittal of the Chinese Olympic swimmers, bringing the international body under extreme scrutiny.
For the tour itself, while the potential of Sinner’s absence could be seen as an opportunity for other players to step up, it also dilutes the competition. Having the two best players in the world, Alcaraz and Sinner, sharing all four Grand Slams this year has both been a joy to watch and pushed the rest of the tour to lift their respective levels (which is good for the sport).
For tennis fans this isn’t good news either. If suddenly one of the two best players wasn’t there competing, the world would be missing out on one of the great rivalries of the modern era.
Other than Krygios, most current players have at best, thrown their support behind Sinner, and at worst, been indifferent. Two of Sinner’s biggest rivals fall into the former category, with Carlos Alcaraz wishing Sinner the “best”and praising his “impressive” form, while Daniil Medvedev mirrored this statement saying, “like Carlos, I am sympathetic to Jannik.”
Alcaraz was, however, wary of the potential harmful impact the WADA appeal might have on the sport, saying, “it isn’t a good sign for tennis, in general.”
The Spaniard added: “It seemed like the case was close, and now, after a month, it’s open again, which is surprising.”
While few would doubt Sinner’s integrity, taking off my fan hat for a second, it’s hard to argue that the reigning Australian Open champion doesn’t deserve to spend some time on the sidelines. To this writer’s knowledge, there has never been a player that has gotten off not just once, but twice from testing positive for doping.
While the minute amount of Clostebol (less than a billionth of a gram) found in the Italian’s system could not have been performance enhancing, that’s not the point - it’s still a banned substance.
Also, one could argue that Sinner is responsible for his team, even if he wasn’t aware that there was a prohibited substance in the healing spray, which could fall under negligence.
As such, based on these facts, the severity of the potential ban should arguably be no more than a year out of the game, potentially only three to six months.
Still, the fact that the world number one has already gone through the CAS twice and has been proven innocent both times, should mean a third time shouldn’t change the outcome, despite a new approach to the case by WADA.
Individually, Sinner has spoken openly about how he was affected by the doping case before the US Open. Nevertheless, he still went on to win the event at Flushing Meadows and followed this up by making the China Open final, losing to Alcaraz in a three-set thriller.
Renowned tennis journalist, Simon Cambers from tennismajors.com, speculated with the First Serve on how this latest appeal would affect the Italian’s mental state going forward.
“I can’t believe that he won’t be affected by it. It’s bound to be stressful, it’s bound to cause him a few sleepless nights here or there. However, he seems to be pretty good at compartmentalising things, but it’s not gonna be easy, if it drags on.”
Sinner has always maintained he has “nothing to hide” and will “cooperate fully with the appeal process” to prove his innocence.
While it’s still unclear how the case will unfold, whatever the verdict is, the jury is still out on what the wider implications will be both WADA and the integrity of the sport itself.
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