Jannik Sinner’s two failed drug tests will rock tennis – what comes next?
News that world No 1 Jannik Sinner failed two drug tests earlier this year will rock tennis to its core and the analysis of this story will now begin.
Drug scandals in tennis are rare and this had the potential to be the highest profile case ever seen in the men’s game after the prohibited substance clostebol was found in Sinner’s system at the ATP 1000 tournament at Indian Wells in March.
Yet Italy’s first world No 1 male tennis player has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a case that, remarkably, did not leak into the public domain until it had concluded.
The statement released by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) will be scrutinised for days to come and it will become the primary talking point in tennis ahead of the US Open.
Clostebol is an anabolic agent prohibited at all times under Section S1 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.
“Under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), when a player returns an adverse analytical finding for a non-specified substance, like clostebol, a provisional suspension is automatically applied,” said the ITIA statement.
“The player has the right to apply to an independent tribunal chair appointed by Sport Resolutions to have that provisional suspension lifted.
“After each positive test, a provisional suspension was applied and on both occasions, Sinner successfully appealed the provisional suspension and has been able to continue playing.
“Sinner successfully argued that clostebol got into his system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.
“That support team member applied the spray between 5 and 13 March, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknown contamination.”
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Tennis365 understands that the levels of clostebol in Sinner’s system were so small that his argument was credible and if he was taking the substance for performance-enhancing purposes, the levels would have been substantially higher.
Sinner will lose the 400 ATP ranking points he collected following his run to the Indian Wells semi-finals and also the $320,000 in prize money, but the big story here is that he is not branded for the rest of his sporting career as a drug cheat.
In what he hopes will be the end of the story, Sinner released a statement with these comments: “I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me.
“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA’s anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”
Is that the end of this story?
Sinner may want it to be, but there is no doubt it will be the primary talking point when he faces the media ahead of the US Open.
It’s remarkable to note that Sinner stayed focused amid a story that could have derailed his career for good and still managed to win the ATP 1000 event in Miami, with his distracted performance at the Monte Carlo Masters now viewed in a different light given the chaos he was living through at the time.
Cynics will doubt Sinner’s explanation and that will always be the story in cases like this, but the ITIA have confirmed they can come down hard on players who break their doping rules as they proved in the case with former world No 1 Simona Halep and they would not have reached this verdict if they had any doubts about Sinner’s innocence.
“We take any positive test extremely seriously and will always apply the rigorous processes set out by WADA,” said ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse.
“The ITIA carried out a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the positive tests with which Mr Sinner and his representatives fully co-operated.
“Following that investigation, the ITIA accepted the player’s explanation as to the source of the clostebol and that the presence of the substance was not intentional. This was also accepted by the tribunal.
“We thank the independent tribunal for the speed and clarity of its decision in relation to the player’s degree of fault.”
Sinner’s lawyer Jamie Singer also released a statement on the story as he said: “Anti-doping rules have to be very strict to be effective. Sadly the unfortunate consequence is that, occasionally, entirely innocent athletes get caught up in them.
“There is no question that Jannik is innocent in this case. The ITIA did not challenge that key principle. However, under strict liability rules, Jannik is responsible for whatever is in his system, even when entirely unaware of it, as in this exceptional case.”
There could be a twist in this story as the decision is subject to appeal by WADA and the Italian Anti-Doping Agency (NADO Italia), but that seems unlikely given the stance taken by the ITIA and the support from the ATP Tour for the verdict.
So a huge story we didn’t even know was bubbling under the surface at tennis appears to have run its course.
The ramifications of a long ban for the top-ranked player in men’s tennis would have had a huge impact on the sport for years to come, but Sinner should now be allowed to continue his career without the finger of suspicion being pushed in his direction over a drug scandal that never was.
