With an official statement, WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, has announced its appeal on the doping-issue involving Jannik Sinner, who tested positive for Clostebol in a test carried out this year at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, for which he subsequently lost points and prize money initially collected.
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The issue will have to live another chapter, even though the Italian hoped to put it behind him once and for all and think exclusively about playing tennis. CAS in Lausanne will deal with the appeal presented by WADA, which had until the end of September to appeal the decision of the independent ITIA tribunal.
The disqualification would be quite heavy, given that the request is for at least 1-2 years. The young Italian's fans are inevitably worried about the issue that is forcefully returning to the forefront: all that remains is to wait for the hearing and further news on the doping issue that has shaken the 23-year-old in recent months.
"The World Anti-Doping Agency confirms that it has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday 26 September in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who was found by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to be free of fault or negligence for testing positive twice for Clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024. WADA believes that the finding of no fault or negligenceis incorrect under the applicable rules and is therefore seeking a period of ineligibility of between 1 and 2 years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification for any result other than that already imposed by the first instance tribunal. As the matter is now pending before CAS, WADA will not comment further at this time," we can read in WADA statement.
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If Jannik were ro be banned for 1 or 2 years, would justice be served? The opinion of the media, insiders, tennis players and fans has inevitably split in what is the most controversial tennis case of the year. According to what was provided by the defense of the young Italian and the ruling of the independent court, Jannik is completely innocent of the affair.
My personal opinion is that the young Italian is innocent, and that he found himself in the wrong situation at the wrong time, however, I want to underline, that it is right that he be judged like his colleagues, without unequal treatment. Of course, a 1-2 disqualification in my opinion is excessive. If Sinner were to be disqualified, he would not lose titles and results achieved up until the disqualification, as this would not be retroactive, of course his public image would inevitably be compromised.
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What had happened previously
Following an in-depth investigation, ITIA and Jannik discovered that the involuntary contamination of Clostebol occurred through the treatment received by his physiotherapist. His athletic trainer bought a product, easily available over the counter in any Italian pharmacy, which he gave to the physiotherapist to treat a cut on his finger.
Jannik did not know anything about it and his physiotherapist did not know that he was using a product containing Clostebol. Following a forensic investigation and an independent hearing, the Court decided that Sinner was currently innocent. The news of the acquittal for the ATP number 1 arrived last August 15.
