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Jannik Sinner - US Open 2024
ATP Tennis Players, Jannik Sinner, Tennis News

Jannik Sinner receiving a doping ban ‘would be the greatest injustice in history’ claims Italian Davis Cup captain


Jannik Sinner has enjoyed the best season of his career on the court, but he still faces a tough off-court battle due to the appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Sinner has lifted a tour-leading eight singles titles in 2024, including the Australian Open and US Open, with the 23-year-old most recently helping Italy defend the Davis Cup title for the first time in their history.

Despite the World No.1’s dominance this year, Sinner has faced an ongoing battle after failing two anti-doping tests earlier this year.

At Indian Wells back in March, Sinner was found to have the banned substance clostebol in his system in two separate tests within an eight day period.

Sinner was allowed to continue competing after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared him of any wrongdoing on the grounds of contamination, but was still stripped of the $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points earned for reaching the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

However, the case was far from over after WADA announced that they would be appealing the decision and were seeking a ban for Sinner of ‘between one and two years’.

Someone who knows Sinner very well is Italian Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri, with the 43-year-old fully in support of his compatriot when speaking to QS Sport.

“I don’t even want to think about a possible disqualification of Sinner, given his honesty and the irrefutable evidence he has provided,” said Volandri. “But if there is a person with broad shoulders it is Jannik. A disqualification would be the greatest injustice in history.”

It is currently unclear as to when an outcome of this will be known, with the appeal being dealt by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Inside the baseline…

Jannik Sinner has been so dominant in 2024, only losing six matches, with it seeming almost impossible at points to stop him at points this season. However, it is easy to forget that the current ATP World No.1 may be unable to compete if this appeal does not go in his favour. There are multiple angles to look at this case, with the fact that a banned substance was twice found in his substance being a big consideration in favour of banning Sinner, but the fact that it was such a small quantity suggesting that maybe it would not be wise to go with that verdict.

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.