Jannik Sinner suffered another blow when he found out that WADA was planning to appeal the acquittal ruling issued by ITIA just before the US Open. The world number 1 thought he had put this controversy behind him once and for all and could only think about tennis, but instead he will have to face another long trial before a final verdict is reached (expected in early 2025).
ADVERTISEMENT
WADA has also acknowledged that the contamination of the Italian ace was entirely unintentional, but disputes the absence of negligence by the two-time Grand Slam champion and requests a suspension for one to two years. The US Open champion has always remained focused on his work despite the difficulties, achieving truly outstanding results in 2024. Jannik has won two Majors and two Masters 1000, is the number 1 in the world with a wide margin over his opponents and is the player who won the most matches this year.
There is no doubt that the 23-year-old from San Candido deserves to close 2024 at the top of the ATP ranking, but fans and experts wonder if the news of the appeal may affect its results in the coming months. Sinner has always cooperated with the authorities and will do so in the coming months, but this is not the ideal situation to express his best tennis.
Sinnersuffered another blow
For Francesco Moser, former cycling champion, the one on Jannik is a "rage that will end in nothing". Moser in an interview with the Corriere del Trentino said that the Wada appeal in the case of Jannik Sinner, in his opinion "is ridiculous". As we know, Jannik Sinner was found positive to Clostebol in March, first during the Indian Wells tournament, then a second time on 18. Sinner was acquitted by an independent court of the International tennis integrity agency because he "was not guilty or negligent" as he proved unintentional contamination during a treatment performed by his physiotherapist. Now the WADA has appealed to the TAS against the decision of ITIA.
ADVERTISEMENT
This decision does not convince the "Sheriff", former cycling world champion: "It seems a ridiculous thing - said Moser -. They have already made all the investigations and it seems that what happened was classified as an accident. It doesnt seem to me that you need to go and look for something else. Dont you understand, they are doing the investigation again? I think its a strange thing. The most obvious fact is that he continued to win and the controls have done them. If it was something he took because he needed it to triumph, he would not win anymore. Instead he continued to do so, even important "stuff"... It seems almost an enmity".
WADA asked for a stop for Sinner from one to two years: "I dont think they get to that, says Moser to the Corriere del Trentino, its too strange. At the moment Italy is strong in tennis, theres not only him. Obviously Sinner is number 1, he has done things that no one has ever done. But I think it will all end in nothing, because what do they have new to put on the plate? If he had been using these substances continuously, they would have caught him again. This seems to me the proof that there is nothing under".
ADVERTISEMENT
The support of colleagues
The Italian ace reached the semi-finals in Beijing, but he admitted that it is not an easy time. The Australian Open champion also found support from rivals like Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. Obviously Im very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings, Sinner stated on Saturday at the China Open.
All three hearings came out very positively for me. I was not expecting it. I knew it couple of days ago, that they were going to appeal, that today its going to go official, sobut yeah, its a surprise. We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. Im just surprised that they appealed.
After the Beijing tournament, Jannik will be the top favourite of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. Last year, the Italian ace was defeated in the decisive tiebreak by Ben Shelton in the round of 16. The Italian ace has decided he will not defend his title in Vienna to focus on the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 and the Nitto ATP Finals. Without surprises, the 23-year-old from San Candido will also play in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November. Italy lifted the trophy in 2023 by beating Australia in the final.
