The International Tennis Integrity Agency issued a statement after the World Anti-Doping Agency decided to appeal their verdict in the Jannik Sinner doping case as the ITIA said they accepted the move made by the WADA but also underlined that they believed their ruling was correct.
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Just a week before the start of the US Open, it was announced that the ATP world No. 1 twice tested positive for banned steroid clostebol in March. However, he didn't face a provisional or a concrete suspension after he was able to quickly prove that he was a victim of a contaminated product and that he didn't knowingly or intentionally ingest something prohibited in his system.
While the Italian was allowed to keep playing and he ended up winning the US Open, it was clear from the start that the biggest anti-doping agency in the world may lodge an appeal in the ITIA ruling. And it happened after on Saturday the WADA announced that they were appealing the initial decision because they didn't think that the "no fault or negligence" part was correct and they also revealed that they were seeking a ban "between one and two years" for Sinner.
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"The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges the World Anti-Doping Agency decision to appeal the ruling of No Fault or Negligence in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, issued by an independent tribunal appointed by Sport Resolutions on 19 August 2024. Under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code, World Anti-Doping Agency has the final right to appeal all such decisions," the ITIA said in a statement.
"Having reached an agreed set of facts following a thorough investigative process, the case was referred to a tribunal entirely independent of the ITIA to determine level of fault and therefore sanction because of the unique set of circumstances, and lack of comparable precedent. The process was run according to World Anti-Doping Code guidelines; however, the ITIA acknowledges and respects WADAs right to appeal the independent tribunals decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport."
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WADA's full statement on the Sinner case
Since weeks had gone by after the ITIA announced that the 2024 Australian Open champion failed a doping test, it seemed like the 23-year-old was close to avoiding any further investigation. But after taking their time to analyze, the top anti-doping agency still decided to bring the Italian's case to the CAS.
"The World Anti-Doping Agency confirms that on Thursday 26 September, it lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Italian tennis player, Jannik Sinner, who was found by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to bear no fault or negligence having twice tested positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024," WADA said in a press release.
"It is WADAs view that the finding of 'no fault or negligence' was not correct under the applicable rules. WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance. As this matter is now pending before CAS, WADA will make no further comment at this time."
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Sinner was 'disappointed' after the latest development in his case
After the news dropped on Saturday morning European time, the world No. 1 was at the start of his Beijing second-round clash and he was down early to Roman Safiullin. Instantly, fans started pointing out that he probably learned about it before the match and that it was negatively impacting him.
In the end, the top-seeded Italian managed to turn things around and beat Safiullin 3-6 6-2 6-3. But afterward, he sent out a response in which he made it clear that he didn't expect it would come down to this.
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. 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 scrutinizing 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," the 23-year-old said in a statement.
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In his message, Sinner also noted that he accepted the WADA's right to take his case to the CAS and also maintained his innocence by saying that he has "nothing to hide."
