Jannik Sinner is trying to defend his title from last year’s ATP 500 in Beijing, which marked the beginning of his ultimate leap. The Italian ace had risen a lot after winning in China in 2023, prelude to an exceptional season finale with triumphs in the ATP 500 in Vienna and in the Davis Cup (not forgetting the final reached at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin).
Jannik Sinner© YouTube screenshot
Although 2024 is certainly the best year of his career in terms of results, the world’s number 1 had to face a long process having been found positive twice at Clostebol during the summer. The 23-year-old from San Candido was declared innocent by ITIA having succeeded in proving the unintentional contamination, but WADA decided to appeal against the acquittal and made this news yesterday.
For the two-time Grand Slam champion, there are other months of strong stress, since the final verdict will hardly be issued before February or March next year. Meanwhile, Sinner will try to stay focused on the tennis court and has close the season in the best way. The world number 1 has already shown incredible mental strength for a boy of just 23 years old.
An unexpected move
During the press conference after the match against Safiullin in Beijing, Jannik admitted that he did not expect the appeal from WADA but that he will cooperate during the trial as he has done in recent months.
Jannik Sinner & Roman Safiullin, Beijing 2024© Stream screenshot
In a long interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sinner’s lawyer Jamie Singer commented on WADA’s choice: “Like Jannik, we were surprised by the call from WADA. We had hoped that the experience of the three experts on the Sports Dispute Resolution Committee – and their well-documented and well-founded judgments – would have convinced the parties that the matter was resolved correctly. There are technical deadlines to meet; we don’t know when we will get through. We are waiting for the full details of the appeal to be received, and then the SBT will decide on the hearing date. We hope to be able to close the file in a few months. No one accuses Jannik of having benefited from performances thanks to Clostebol, it would be unfair to penalize him in the rankings or gains.
WADA believes he is somehow responsible for his team’s actions and therefore they are asking that he be sanctioned. Suspension is the penalty it seeks for what it considers to be negligence. We all know that WADA has every right to take this action, but we don’t think the call was really necessary.”
The two-time Grand Slam champion did not hide his disappointment with WADA’s decision, which he waited until the last moment to appeal. “I am obviously very disappointed with this appeal, as it has surprised me greatly because we had three hearings throughout the process with the ITIA, and all three were positive for me. I didn’t expect this, to be honest” – the Italian ace said.
He continued: ”I was informed two days ago that they would file this appeal, and they told me that today the news would be made public. I don’t know, maybe the World Anti-Doping Agency just wants to make sure everything is correct, but it has been a surprise for me. There are things that cannot be controlled.”
Other difficult months
Jannik is almost certain to finish 2024 at the top of the ATP ranking, having more than 4000 points ahead of Alexander Zverev in the ATP ranking. The German player – incidentally – could not play the ATP 500 in Beijing because of a pneumonia and will have to stay at rest for some time.
Jannik Sinner, Beijing 2024© Stream screenshot
In a post on his official X account, former World No.80 and former coach of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu – Mark Petchey – opened up on Sinner’s case: “Just for the record, there is no scandal in the Sinner’s case. He and his lawyers worked within the rules in force in the situation where they were found and obtained a decision based on the evidence presented. No conspiracy, no concealment. WADA reviewed the file and decided to appeal the decision on the grounds that the expression “no fault or negligence” was not correct under applicable rules. That’s how the law works every day, before responding to a fan claiming the scandal was that Sinner had received special treatment. No. False story and it is exhausting to see people allowed to spread these slanders.”
After the ATP 500 in Beijing, the US Open champion will play the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. Jannik will have a chance to improve on last year’s result in Shanghai, when he was defeated by Ben Shelton in the round of 16.