Jannik Sinner faces a ban of up to two years after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to find him innocent after failing two drugs tests.
Sinner won the US Open earlier this month, beating Britain’s Jack Draper in the semi-finals, after being cleared to play in the tournament after an independent panel convened by Sports Resolutions accepted that the No. 1’s positive tests of the world were the result of contamination from a massage by his physiotherapist, for which he was not to blame.
Just over a month later, Wada has now confirmed it will challenge the ruling at the highest court in sports.
“The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) confirms that on Thursday, September 26, it filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who was dismissed by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). ) accepts no fault or negligence, as she tested positive twice for clostebol, a banned substance, in March 2024.
“Wada believes that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was incorrect under the applicable rules. Wada demands a period of ineligibility of one to two years. Wada does not seek disqualification from any result other than that already imposed by the tribunal of first instance.
“As this matter is now under review by Cas, Wada will have no further comment at this time.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) released a statement following Wada’s move.
“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to appeal the ruling of ‘No Fault or Negligence’ in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, issued by a independent tribunal appointed by Sport Resolutions on September 19. August 2024. Under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code, Wada has the final right to appeal all such decisions.
“After reaching an agreement following a thorough investigative process, the matter was referred to a tribunal completely independent of the ITIA to determine the level of culpability and therefore the sanction due to the unique circumstances and lack of comparable precedent. The process was conducted according to 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.”
Wada’s appeal will rock tennis after Sinner won the US Open following the original decision in his case, having already claimed his first major at the Australian Open.
Sinner fired the physiotherapist blamed for his positive tests and the fitness coach who provided the steroids after publishing a decision in his case before the final major of the year in New York.
The world number 1 confirmed that Giacomo Naldi and Umberto Ferrara had paid with their jobs at his first press conference since the government ruled the world number 1 was “not at fault or negligent” after clostebol was found in his urine in March.
Last month it was announced that an independent tribunal had accepted that Sinner’s positive tests were the result of contamination from a massage by Naldi, who had unknowingly exposed him to the banned substance by using a spray containing it on a severed finger to treat.
Ferrara also admitted supplying the spray to Naldi, claiming he warned him it contained such a substance – although the latter disputed this.
Speaking ahead of the US Open, Sinner said: “They have been a huge part of my career. We worked together for two years. We did a fantastic job, had a lot of success and then had a great team behind me.
“These mistakes have made me not very confident about continuing with it. All I need now is just some clean air.”
Sinner admitted he had “had a lot of difficulty in recent months” after his coach, Darren Cahill, said the doping case had made the Italian so ill he had to miss the Olympics due to tonsillitis.
The player, who is looking for his second grand slam in the coming days after winning his first at the Australian Open in January, added of a four-month ordeal that ended last week: “It’s obviously not ideal for a grand slam. But in my mind I know I did nothing wrong.
“I had to play with this in my head for months, reminding myself that I didn’t actually do anything wrong. I will always respect these anti-doping rules. It is clearly a relief for myself with this result.”
Despite escaping a ban, Sinner was stripped of the 400 ranking points and £250,000 in prize money he earned at March’s Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, where he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. But he feared it could have been much worse because not all athletes had tested positive due to infection, which avoided suspension.
“Of course I was worried because it was my first and hopefully last time in this situation,” Sinner said.
“Another part we need to see is the amount I had in my body, which is 0.000000001, so there are a lot of zeros before we get to a one. So of course I was concerned, because I’m always the player who was very, very careful about this. I believe I am an honest player both on and off the field.”
Nevertheless, Sinner’s drug ban delay sparked a backlash from his fellow professionals, with Nick Kyrgios calling it ‘ridiculous’. Sinner suggested that the case had exposed who his friends and enemies were, and admitted that he had to accept that he could not control its impact on his reputation.
“Anyone who knows me very well knows that I have done nothing and that I would never do anything that is against the rules,” he said.
“Here I also know who is my friend and who is not my friend, no, because, my friends, they know I would never do that.”
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