Yesterday, it was reported that WADA has appealed the acquittal sentence for Jannik Sinner’s Clostebol positivity. It was a real blow for the world number 1, who hoped to finally put this controversy behind him after already having to face a long trial during the summer.
Jannik Sinner, Beijing 2024© Stream screenshot
The two-time Grand Slam champion admitted that he was surprised by WADA’s appeal and learned of it on September 26th. The 23-year-old from San Candido did not express his best tennis in the first two rounds in Beijing – where he is called to defend the title won last year – losing the first set against both Nicolas Jarry and Roman Safiullin before the comeback.
The Italian ace has played a truly incredible season, proving to be the most consistent player at this moment with a record of 57 wins and only 5 losses in 2024. It will not be easy for Jannik to handle this extra dose of stress, even though the Italian champion has already shown that he has a mental strength out of the ordinary.
WADA shocked everyone
Sinner has won two Majors this year – the Australian Open and the US Open – as well as winning the Miami and Cincinnati Masters 1000. The world number 1 has set the ATP Finals in Turin as its main goal for the latter part of this season. Sinner is currently playing the ATP 500 in Beijing and has reached the quarterfinals with some difficulty in the first two rounds.
Former world number 4 and top analyst Brad Gilbert and long-time coach of Andre Agassi also intervened in the doping case of Jannik Sinner. As we know yesterday, Saturday 28 September “the WADA World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that it had filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday 26 September in the case of the Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, Judged by an independent court of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) without fault or negligence for being positive twice to Clostebol, a banned substance, in March 2024”.
Jannik Sinner© YouTube screenshot
WADA believes that the finding of “no fault or negligence” by the Italian player currently number 1 in the world, is not correct under the current rules and therefore requests a period of disqualification between 1 and 2 years. There have been many reactions to this decision in the last few hours. Brad Gilbert, former American tennis player and recently former coach of Cori Gauff, has reacted to this request and posted his thoughts in a post on his profile on the social network X.
“I am completely baffled by this decision of the WADA – writes Gilbert – was (the dose, ed) 8000 times less than a gram of salt. Unfortunately it will take months to figure out, where is the players’ association in this case, besides “Sin City” paying for their lawyers? ” is the sharp thought of the former American tennis player.
In this final part of the season, the two-time Grand Slam champion will play the Shanghai Masters 1000, the ‘Six Kings Slam’ in Saudi Arabia, the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. He will not defend his title won in Vienna in 2023.
Sinner’s statement
After WADA’s decision, Sinner released a statement: “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.
Jannik Sinner© Nick Kyrgios – Instagram
They issued an in-depth judgment explaining why they determined me not at fault, with clear evidence provided and my cooperation throughout. 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.” The world number 1 will try to achieve good results in this season finale without being influenced by this case, although it will not be easy for a champion like him. It may take several months to reach a final verdict.