Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 ranked men’s tennis player, failed two drug tests this spring but was cleared and not suspendedGetty Images
THE US Open The kick-off was on Monday, but what was “hanging over the final Grand Slam of the year” was the recent announcement that No. 1 ranked men’s tennis player Jannik Sinner had failed two drug tests this spring but was cleared and will not be suspendedAccording to Ava Wallace of the WASHINGTON POST, Sinner said in his first public comments on the case, “The only thing I need right now is just some fresh air.” But Wallace wrote that Sinner, who will face American Mackie McDonald on Tuesday, “may not find that easily in New York.” Sinner enters the U.S. Open “firmly at the head of the next generation of superstars in men’s tennis.” But his case “has sparked controversy” because the announcement of its resolution was the “first time the public had heard of his positive tests.” That led some players to “question whether Sinner received favorable treatment because of his status in the sport,” both in the sense that the case was “kept secret and in the sense that he was allowed to continue playing.” Other players have been “suspended or banned while their appeals are heard.” Sinner said the fact that he and his team “quickly identified how the substance got into his system made the difference” in why he was allowed to compete. But Wallace noted that his explanation “didn’t allay questions about why his case was kept so tightly under wraps.” Most players interviewed about the case before the U.S. Open said they “trusted the outcome of the investigation,” but “expressed dissatisfaction with the fairness of the system and the transparency of the case.”WASHINGTON POST, August 26).
