The banned for life former tennis player Daniele Bracciali was interviewed by Mowmag, expressing his opinion on the Clostebol doping-issue involving his young countryman Jannik Sinner, predicting a disqualification for the ATP No.1.
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"How will the Sinner case end? Unfortunately, knowing the environment of WADA and ITIA I believe that a disqualification will almost certainly arrive. It is not right to disqualify a tennis player if it is found that he has not taken drugs to improve performance and in the case of the Italian it really has not changed anything. Objective responsibility in this situation is a real scam," he said.
The former tennis player then agreed that WADA decided to persecute the tennis player because we are talking about the ATP number 1 but they would not have done it with an ordinary tennis player. Jannik is achieving great results in this 2024: he has won two Slams and has been number 1 in the ATP world rankings for weeks now. He is the first Italian in history to achieve this result but unfortunately for weeks there has been a significant problem hanging over the career of the Italian, with WADA having appealed after the initial acquittal for the Clostebol case. We recall Bracciali was banned for life on 21 November 2018 by the Tennis Integrity Unit on charges of having facilitated a betting ring.
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That said, the doping case that involved Sinner in recent months has been reopened following the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne by WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has requested a 1-2 year suspension for the world number one athlete from Alto Adige. The body will have to prove that the Italian is actually guilty and negligent for the positive Clostebol, a banned doping substance that came into contact with his body through physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi. The former member of the Italian's staff had treated a wound to the little finger of his right hand during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with a spray containing Clostebol (without the player's knowledge), then massaging Jannik without gloves. The involuntary contamination (the quantity of the substance revealed was infinitesimal) was proven with significant evidence and allowed the native of San Candido not to receive a temporary suspension, winning both appeals, and winning in the hearing at the independent ITIA tribunal.
After the appeal was filed, you can read below what the reaction was from the agency that carried out all the investigations and managed the matter through an official statement: "The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to appeal the finding of not guilty or negligent in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, issued by an independent tribunal appointed by Sport Resolutions on 19 August 2024. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA has the final right to appeal all such decisions. After reconstructing the sequence of events following a thorough investigative process, the case was referred to a tribunal completely independent of the ITIA to determine what the level of negligence was. The process was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the World Anti-Doping Code; however, the ITIA recognizes and respects WADA's right to appeal the decision of the independent tribunal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport."
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Recently also Lucas Pouilleattacked the current world number 1 ATP ranking in an interview with Tennis Actu. According to the 30-year-old Frenchman, each tennis player is responsible for everything that enters their body, even when the mistake could be made by one of their team members.
"We are lost in the different governing bodies. In addition to those that govern this sector, the tennis circuit already includes the ATP, the WTA, the ITF and the Grand Slam tournaments. Jannik Sinner was acquitted by an independent tribunal and now the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to the CAS in Lausanne. Once again, it is going in so many different directions. We really don't know what is happening. Are there double standards? I would say so. Sinner was acquitted, good for him. I don't think he took any substance intentionally. He is a tennis player that I really like and that I love to watch when he plays, but personally when you sign the anti-doping documents you are responsible for everything that goes into your body. We are not talking about a small substance. He had a minimal amount of the substance in his body, but he is lucky," he explained.
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