Jannik Sinner faces uncomfortable reality as long suspension from tennis could be his legacy
An uncomfortable reality faces the world’s No 1 tennis player as he closes in on a successful defence of his Australian Open title.
Jannik Sinner’s brutal dismantling of America’s Ben Shelton in the Australian Open semi-final highlighted the brilliance of the Italian who got the kind of cheers and adulation Novak Djokovic could only dream about after he was booed off the same Rod Laver Arena court following a retirement in his semi-final a few hours earlier.
Such has been the level of his improvement since late 2023 that Sinner now appears to have no flaws in his game, with his booming serve backed up by thumping ground shots that have too much weight and accuracy for any opponent thrown in his path.
Sinner has no weak spots, no dips in his performance levels during matches and he also boasts a calm temperament that allows him to complete a package that has earned him an air of invincibility.
He is relentless, almost boring in his brilliance and yet those outside of the tennis bubble may know the finest player in the men’s game for something a little less pure.
While Sinner won his first two Grand Slam titles in 2024, claimed the year-end world No 1 ranking and rounded off his year by winning the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup, it was also the year when he hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.
As news broke that Sinner failed two drug tests last March after the anabolic steroid clostebol was found in his system, it was a story that cut through to a wider audience than any of his successes on court.
Ask non-tennis fans what they know about Jannik Sinner and there is a fair chance they will replay that he is ‘the guy who failed a drug test’.
This is an impossible stigma for him to escape from, especially as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) opted to appeal against the decision of tennis chiefs at the International Tennis Integrity Agency to absolve Sinner of blame following his positive doping tests.
The WADA appeal will be heard in mid-April, with Sinner facing a minimum one-year suspension from tennis if the verdict goes against him.
In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse explained why the minimum punishment the Italian could receive would be a one-year suspension if the decision goes against him.
“If you test positive for a banned substance, your starting point for a possible sanction is four years,” Moorhouse explained in her extensive Tennis365 interview.
“If you can demonstrate that it was not intentional, that reduces to two years. Then, if you can prove there was no fault, there is no sanction.
“In addition, a decision of ‘no significant fault or negligence’ could fall between a reprimand and two years. That applies to any cases around a contaminated substance.
“It’s the same rules and the same processes for every player. All cases are different and each case turns on individual facts.
“The complication with the Sinner case is the positive test was not a result of a contaminated product. That is the difference between Swiatek and Halep. There is no contamination here.
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“The product that the masseuse used on his finger was not contaminated. That is exactly what it said the product contained on the packaging.
“And so because it is not a contaminated product, the range for a sanction is one year to two years.”
Sinner’s brilliance on the court may well give him a third Grand Slam title in Sunday’s Australian Open final, but the player and the sport he is excelling in are grappling with how to control a perception that his dominance at the top of the men’s game is something of a problem for the image of the sport.
If he is banned for 12 months, tennis will be forced to deal with a credibility crisis that will tarnish the sport further and it won’t just be Sinner that takes a hit if WADA’s appeal goes against him.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner ‘deliberate’ doping theory floated by leading scientist in shock claim
