Jannik Sinner’s doping case frustrates his Australian Open opponent: ‘I would have liked the same support’

Jannik Sinner will face another player who has tested positive for a banned substance in the first match of his title defence at the 2025 Australian Open.
Nicolas Jarry has admitted he “would have liked the same support” he feels Sinner received after his own failed tests.
In 2020, Jarry was hit with an 11-month ban after testing positive for anabolic agent ligandrol and anabolic steroid stanozolol during the Davis Cup Finals in late 2019. The Chilean said the positive test was due to “cross-contamination.”
The 29-year-old faces the daunting task of playing Sinner in the opening round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Jarry, who is ranked 36th in the world, reached a career-high position of 16th in May last year.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that Sinner would not be banned for failing two doping tests in March after an independent tribunal ruled he carried “no fault or negligence.”
The Italian tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, on March 10 and 18 — during and after the Indian Wells Masters.
The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his body when receiving a massage from his former physio, Giacomo Naldi, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on his finger. The 23-year-old lost the 400 ranking points and $320,000 he earned for reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells.
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It was revealed this week that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the verdict will be heard on April 16 and 17.
A statement from WADA in September said: “It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules.
“WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
Speaking to Chilean newspaper La Tercera ahead of his clash with Sinner in Melbourne, Jarry questioned the treatment he received over his failed doping tests in comparison to Sinner.
“I would have liked the same support he got when it happened to me. That’s something that affects me personally,” the three-time ATP titlist said.
“I try to work on it, to talk about it, to not let it affect me, but it’s something I still can’t fully move on from.”
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