rome — Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner has said he is “extremely disappointed” after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to clear him of wrongdoing following two positive drug tests. I’m disappointed and surprised.”
The Montreal-based organization known as WADA announced Saturday that it is seeking a one- to two-year ban for the U.S. Open champion, but that it has no plans to make the final suspension retroactive. Showed. That means Sinner will be able to keep his second Grand Slam. Even if you are found guilty, you will still be given the title.
The appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) means the case may not be resolved by the time Sinner begins his Australian Open title defense in January. The sinner can continue playing while the appeal is heard.
The announcement was made while Sinner was playing against Roman Safiulin at the China Open in Beijing.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed and surprised by this appeal, because there were three hearings. Three hearings… Both results were very positive for me.”
“You know, I wasn’t expecting that. I knew a few days ago that they were going to appeal, and I knew that it would be officially announced today, so … It’s a surprise,” the Italian added. “Maybe they just want to make sure everything is in the right place.”
Italy’s Yannick Sinner reacts after defeating Russia’s Roman Safiullin at the China Open Tennis Tournament in Beijing, Saturday, September 28, 2024.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
Sinner tested positive for anabolic steroids twice in March, but an independent tribunal decision released last month by the International Tennis Integrity Authority said he would not be suspended because the ITIA found Sinner was not responsible. There wasn’t.
Mr Sinner’s accepted explanation was that the banned performance-enhancing drug inadvertently entered his body through a massage from a physical therapist who used a spray containing steroids to treat his own cuts. .
WADA announced on Thursday that it had filed an appeal with CAS.
“It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was incorrect in light of the applicable regulations,” WADA said in a statement. “WADA is seeking disqualification of one to two years. WADA is not seeking disqualification of any consequences other than those already imposed by the trial court.”
WADA said Nicholas Zbinden, the tennis integrity body’s prosecutor who accepted Sinner’s case, regularly handles cases that attract the global watchdog’s attention, including the successful appeal against Russian figure skater Camila. He suggested that the rules were not properly followed, even though he is a lawyer who is Valieva.
“It is difficult to see what can be gained by having three different judges look at the same facts and materials again,” Sinner said in a later statement.
“That being said, I have nothing to hide. As I have done all summer, I will fully cooperate with the appeal process and do whatever it takes to prove my innocence once again.” We will provide it,” Sinner added.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner lifts the trophy after defeating American Taylor Fritz in the men’s singles final at the 2024 US Open Tennis Championships.
AP Photo/Julia Nickinson
If the parties agree to cooperate, appellate verdicts in CAS can be rendered quickly, even within just a few months. At least that’s how it worked in tennis’s other high-profile doping case involving Maria Sharapova.
Sharapova tested positive for the newly banned heart drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January 2016. In June of the same year, he was suspended for two years by the International Tennis Federation.
The Russian star appealed to CAS, which held a hearing before three judges in New York in September, and four weeks later obtained a verdict reducing his suspension to 15 months.
Sharapova’s entire procedure with CAS took only four months, which is much shorter than most doping cases, which usually take about a year. Complexities such as selecting jurors, determining hearing dates, and exchanging documents and evidence from expert witnesses can disrupt schedules.
During a hard court event in Indian Wells, California in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used in ophthalmology and dermatology. This is the same drug that got San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. suspended by Major League Baseball in 2022.
Sinner tested positive again eight days later in an out-of-competition sample.
As a result of the test, he was provisionally suspended twice by the Tennis Fairness body, but after two appeals to independent court judges, he was allowed to continue competing on tour.
Italy’s Yannik Sinner poses at the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup after defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles final at the 2024 Australian Open Championship.
AP Photo/Andy Wong
Sinner said the test result came about because a fitness trainer bought an over-the-counter spray called Trophodermin containing clostebol in Italy and gave it to Sinner’s physical therapist to treat a cut on his finger. The physical therapist then treated the thinner without wearing gloves.
Mr Sinner said the amount of banned substances tested reached “0.000000001”.
The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation after 10 meetings with the athlete and his aides, and the independent committee announced its agreement at a public hearing on August 15.
The Tennis Integrity’s decision ordered Sinner to forfeit $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points he won from the Indian Wells tournament.
Mr. Sinner later announced that he had fired the two trainers.
“We have great confidence in (CAS) and they have the final say in this case,” said Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. “We are confident that the only effect of WADA’s appeal will be positive, because it will formally certify his innocence.”
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Lausanne, Switzerland, contributed to this report.
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