“I didn’t do anything wrong.” So read the headline on the back page of Saturday Age in Melbourneabove a plaintive-looking photograph of the world number 1 Jannik sinner.
As tennis continues to battle ongoing issues doping controversieshis bosses also rebuffed some awkward requests from the floor. Their official position, regarding both Sinner and fellow US Open champion Iga SwiatekThis is because the protocol was followed to the letter.
And yet, even the player’s body seems to have doubts. The International Tennis Integrity Agency held two information sessions with agents and coaches in Melbourne on Friday. According to an ITIA spokesperson, the intention was to “review recent cases, set out the facts and answer questions”. One of those questions was how Sinner was able to play until 2024 without interruption, despite two positive tests for the banned steroid Clostebol.
The first grand slam of the new season therefore begins in the shadow of last season’s positive doping controls, and the saga is far from over. After a call from World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) announced on Friday that it had set aside April 16 and 17 for a new hearing of the Sinner case.
So far, former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios was the most vocal critic of Sinner’s initial exoneration, repeatedly claiming on social media that it proves tennis is “done”. Kyrgios is, after all, a renowned polemicist. But it’s not just him.
Other players in the locker room privately wondered whether Sinner was being treated more leniently because of his position atop the world rankings. Indeed, others have maliciously referred to his Italian nationality, at a time when the president and general manager of the ATP Tour are also Italian.
And such skepticism has only been stoked by the fact that Swiatek – Sinner’s counterpart as world number one for most of 2024 – has also managed to retain his own rank. positive test for the banned substance Trimetazidine in the public domain for almost three months. (On November 29, it was finally revealed that Swiatek had served a month-long ban in late September and early October, during which time she initially claimed to be too tired and distracted to compete.)
News of Sinner’s positive tests was released on August 23, approximately five months after the tests. In both cases, the delay was because the players were able to successfully challenge their own provisional suspensions within the prescribed 10-day period. “It is historically unusual for a provisional suspension appeal to be successful,” an ITIA spokesperson said. Telegraph sport Saturday, “so two in quick succession, it’s extremely rare.”
Even if the ITIA considered that Swiatek did not support “any significant fault or negligence” for taking a contaminated dose of melatonin (a sleep hormone permitted by WADA guidelines), Sinner did better. He was released from any responsibility for the presence of clostebol in his body, on the grounds that his physical trainer, Giacomo Naldi, had contaminated him during a routine massage.
Yet the affair has already caused significant damage to Sinner’s image, both inside and outside the Melbourne Park bubble. On Thursday he arrived on site for the Australian Open draw, with the same Norman Brookes Challenge Cup he first lifted here last year. During the live broadcast of the event on YouTubea scrolling stream of viewer comments featured countless lurid references to his positive test. The awkward nickname “Dopinner” kept coming back.
And now we are waiting for the call. It should be noted that WADA does not dispute the details of Sinner’s defense, which revolves around the fact that Naldi performs a massage after using an over-the-counter spray – available only in Italy and containing Clostebol – to treat a cut on the finger of his own hand. .
Rather, Wada’s point is that you need to take at least some responsibility for what ends up in your body, whether you know how it got there or not. If ignorance were a foolproof defense, a coach could treat an athlete with any substance as long as it remained anonymous – just as coaches in the former East Germany fed their athletes steroids under the guise of vitamin pills.
The outlook for Sinner is worrying, as all precedent suggests that Cas usually opts for a middle path between the two sides. This could potentially mean a shift from “no fault or negligence” to “no fault or negligence”. significant fault or negligence”, followed by a short ban. While one month would count as a light penalty, a sentence of between three and six months could mean a forced absence from the French Open and Wimbledon, and possibly the cancellation of his US Open title defense.
The Most Remarkable Thing About Sinner’s dominant exhibition in New York Last September, the tournament began just six days after news of his positive tests emerged. He gave a calm, confident press conference before his first-round match, then compartmentalized himself so well on court that he lost only two sets in a fortnight.
However, on Friday in Melbourne it felt like Sinner’s energy reserves were starting to run out. When asked how he kept blocking out all the noise, he showed signs of frustration for the first time. “I don’t think I have to answer that question, to be honest,” Sinner replied. “I didn’t do anything wrong. That’s why I’m still here. That’s why I still play. I don’t want to respond to what Nick said or what the other players are saying.
As we prepare for Sunday’s first round matches which begin at Melbourne Park, Sinner remains the favorite to win a third major title – and thus extend his hard-court unbeaten run in the majors to more than a year.
But as the fallout from Sinner’s doping case continues to reverberate, his mettle is sure to be tested. It would be almost miraculous to rise above such distractions for a second consecutive Slam.
