Andy Roddick labels timeline of Jannik Sinner doping ban ‘borderline laughable’

Ewan West 18 Feb 2025 4:02 PM

Jannik Sinner and Andy Roddick

Former US Open champion Andy Roddick has described the timeline of Jannik Sinner’s suspension for failed doping tests as “borderline laughable.”

Sinner has been banned from tennis for three months, with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announcing on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with the world No 1’s representatives.

The Italian tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol twice in March 2024 — during and after the Indian Wells Masters.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed in August that Sinner had avoided a ban after an independent tribunal ruled he carried “no fault or negligence.”

The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that clostebol had entered his body by accidental contamination when he received a massage from his former physio, Giacomo Naldi, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on his finger.

However, WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the ITIA’s ruling in September, seeking to impose a suspension of between one and two years on Sinner.

The case was scheduled to be heard at the CAS from April 16-17, but Sinner avoided the prospect of a longer ban by agreeing a deal with WADA.

The three-time Grand Slam champion’s suspension period runs from February 9 until May 4 (his ban also includes four days previously served while he was under a provisional suspension).

Sinner was forced to withdraw from this week’s Qatar Open ATP 500 event, and he will also miss Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.

The 23-year-old will not, however, miss any Grand Slams, and he will be able to compete at the Italian Open, which begins three days after his ban expires.

Speaking on his Served podcast, Roddick declared that he does not believe Sinner intentionally tried to enhance his performance but questioned the “extremely convenient” timing of the ban.

“Listen, I say this up front, I don’t think Sinner knowingly cheated, I don’t think he intentionally did,” the American said. “I think his trainer f***ed up in epic ways, but we are responsible for what our teams do.

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“That is why we are here at a suspension. Not because we found Sinner at fault, not because he was knowingly doing anything, but because we are responsible for our teams.

“It’s just, literally if you could handpick a date, I am going to start this 10 days after the Aussie Open and I am going to end it, not even right before the French Open, right before I make my return to Rome, in the Masters 1000 there.

“You could not have handpicked a better sweet spot for Jannik to take this deal, which is either, you know, strange, or the best coincidence that has ever happened to Jannik’s team.”

The former world No 1 continued: “It is extremely convenient timing. I want to know, like my mind automatically goes, what’s this negotiation like, right? How does this conversation take place to avoid this trial.

“I think I have more questions about what we’re reading this morning than I have maybe going up to this point.

“I felt pretty confident, I don’t think he did it on purpose. I tend to believe that Jannik at least was acting in good faith the entire time.

“Now, this whole thing with the — you play the first major, you win it and then you take a little, you know siesta, and then you continue on with a week, you know a warmup tournament in Rome, and then you miss no majors.

“Now I don’t know how this, maybe it’s just good fortune for the Sinner team, but the timeline is borderline laughable.”