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Jannik Sinner - US Open 2024

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Jannik Sinner admits he is ‘very disappointed’ about World Anti-Doping Agency appeal

Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
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Jannik Sinner has responded to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealing his case, with the World No.1 admitting that he was ‘surprised’ about the news.Sinner is currently in Beijing for the China Open as defending champion, and yesterday kept his title defence alive after fighting back to beat Roman Safiullin, 3-6 6-2 6-3, to progress to the
ATP 500 quarter-finals.However, the main topic of conversation after Sinner’s win was not the match itself, but instead the fact that WADA had decided to appeal his anti-doping case. The Italian failed two anti-doping tests back in March after the prohibited substance clostebol was found in his system, but avoided being suspended on the grounds of contamination after claiming that his former physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, had used a spray containing the steroid on his own hand prior to massaging himself. Sinner has since gone onto win the Miami Open, Halle Open, Cincinnati Masters and most recently the US Open, but now faces a new challenge with WADA releasing a statement confirming their intention for the 23-year-old to have ‘a period of ineligibility of between one and two years’. Unsurprisingly after his win in the Chinese capital Sinner was asked about his thoughts on the appeal, with the two-time Grand Slam champion revealing when he was first made aware of the news. “Obviously I’m very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings,” admitted Sinner. “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 it’s going to go official. “But yeah, it’s a surprise. We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. Yeah, I’m just surprised that they appealed.”
The appeal hearing will now be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with it currently unknown as to when that will be. Despite already having his say when speaking to press in Beijing, a lengthier statement was subsequently released on Sinner’s behalf to continue his defence. “I am disappointed to hear that WADA have chosen to appeal the result of my ITIA [International Tennis Integrity Agency] hearing after the independent judges had exonerated me and deemed me to be innocent,” the statement began. “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 scrutinising 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.” Sinner continued, “On the back of such a robust process, both the ITIA and the Italian anti-doping authority accepted it and waived their rights to appeal. I understand these things need to be thoroughly investigated to maintain the integrity of the sport we all love. However, it is difficult to see what will be gained by asking a different set of three judges to look at the same facts and documentation all over again. “This being said, I have nothing to hide, and as I have done throughout the summer, I will cooperate fully with the appeal process and provide whatever may be needed to prove my innocence once again. As the case is now pending before CAS, I won’t comment further.” Sinner will look to put this appeal to the back of his mind for the time being, with his China Open quarter-final against Jiri Lehecka taking place tomorrow.
Inside the baseline…Although the blame ultimately lies with Jannik Sinner and his team for the alleged contamination, it must have been one hell of a rollercoaster year for the 23-year-old. Sinner spoke about how much of an impact that the original trial had on him, so it will be interesting to see if this appeal impacts his results now that it is in the public domain. Hopefully a swift outcome is possible, but the main thing is that this is dealt with properly.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner doping ban clearance appealed by WADA
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