Jannik Sinner Expresses how disappointed he is about World Anti-Doping Agency appeal… See detail
Jannik Sinner has responded to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) appeal of his case, saying he was’surprised’ by the news.
Sinner is now in Beijing for the China Open as the reigning champion, and he kept his title defence alive yesterday by rallying back to defeat Roman Safiullin, 3-6 6-2 6-3, to go to the ATP 500 quarterfinals.
However, the main topic of conversation after Sinner’s win was not the match itself, but instead the fact that WADA had decided to appeal his anti-doping case.
The Italian failed two anti-doping tests back in March after the prohibited substance clostebol was found in his system, but avoided being suspended on the grounds of contamination after claiming that his former physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, had used a spray containing the steroid on his own hand prior to massaging himself.
Sinner has since gone onto win the Miami Open, Halle Open, Cincinnati Masters and most recently the US Open, but now faces a new challenge with WADA releasing a statement confirming their intention for the 23-year-old to have ‘a period of ineligibility of between one and two years’.
Unsurprisingly after his win in the Chinese capital Sinner was asked about his thoughts on the appeal, with the two-time Grand Slam champion revealing when he was first made aware of the news.
“Obviously I’m very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings,” admitted Sinner. “All three hearings came out very positively for me. I was not expecting it. I knew it couple of days ago, that they were going to appeal, that today it’s going to go official.
“But yeah, it’s a surprise. We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. Yeah, I’m just surprised that they appealed.”
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The appeal hearing will now be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but the exact date is undetermined.
Despite having already spoken to the press in Beijing, Sinner’s representative issued a longer statement to continue his defense.
“I am disappointed to hear that WADA have chosen to appeal the result of my ITIA [International Tennis Integrity Agency] hearing after the independent judges had exonerated me and deemed me to be innocent,” the statement began.
“Over the past few months and throughout this process there have been three separate hearings in each case confirming my innocence. Several months of interviews and investigations culminated in three senior judges scrutinising every detail through a formal hearing. They issued an in-depth judgement explaining why they determined me not at fault, with clear evidence provided and my cooperation throughout.”
Sinner continued, “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.”
Sinner will look to put this appeal to the back of his mind for the time being, with his China Open quarter-final against Jiri Lehecka taking place tomorrow.
WADA appeals case of tennis player Jannik Sinner. Read more here: https://t.co/vExHGdmkZG
— WADA (@wada_ama) September 28, 2024
