ROME – The Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed the steroid case involving top tennis player Jannik Sinner, the Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency announced on Saturday.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said it was seeking to ban the US Open champion for a year or two, but indicated that it did not plan to delay the final ban date, which means Sinner could retain his second Grand Slam title if he is found guilty.
The announcement was made while Sinner was on court against Roman Saviolin at the China Open in Beijing.
“Obviously I am very disappointed and also surprised by this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings. The results of the three hearings were very positive for me,” the 23-year-old Siner said after his victory over Safiulin.
“You know, I wasn’t expecting that,” he added. “I knew it two days ago, that they were going to appeal the ruling, and that it was going to be official today, so… it’s a surprise.” “We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure everything is in the right place. “Yes, I’m surprised they appealed.”
Sinner tested positive twice last March, but he was not suspended according to a decision issued by an independent court announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency on August 20, because the agency decided that he was not responsible.
Sinner’s plausible explanation was that the banned performance enhancer had inadvertently entered his system through a massage from a physical therapist, who used a steroid-containing spray to treat his severed finger.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said it filed an appeal on Thursday with the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“WADA considers that the finding of no fault or negligence was not valid under the applicable rules,” WADA said in a statement. “WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking to overturn any findings, other than those already imposed by the lower court.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) noted that the rules had not been properly followed even though Tennis Integrity Authority prosecutor Nicola Zbinden – who accepted Sinner’s version of events – is a lawyer who regularly works on high-profile cases for the world watchdog, including Successful appeal against Russian skater Camila. Valeeva.
An appeal ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport can be delivered quickly – even within just a few months – if both parties agree to cooperate. At least that’s how it went in another high-profile tennis doping case involving Maria Sharapova.
However, the case will likely not be resolved before Sinner begins the defense of his Australian Open title in January.
Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open in January 2016 for the newly banned heart drug meldonium. She was banned for two years in June of that year by the International Tennis Federation.
The Russian star appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, held an appeal hearing in New York before three judges in September of that year, and four weeks later obtained a ruling that reduced her ban to 15 months.
Sharapova’s entire process with CAS took just four months, which is much shorter than most doping cases, which typically last about a year. The timeline can be bogged down by the complexities of selecting an arbitration panel, finding a date for the hearing, and the parties exchanging documents and evidence from expert witnesses.
During a hard court match at Indian Wells in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used in ophthalmology and dermatology. It’s the same drug that San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended for by MLB in 2022.
Sinner tested positive again eight days later in an out-of-competition sample.
He was provisionally suspended twice by the Tennis Integrity Authority over those test results, but successfully appealed twice to an independent tribunal judge and was allowed to continue competing on the tour.
Sinner said his test results came about because his fitness trainer bought an over-the-counter spray called Trofodermin in Italy that contains Clostebol and gave it to Sinner’s physical therapist to treat a cut on the physical therapist’s finger. The physical therapist then treated Sinner without wearing gloves.
ITIA said it accepted Sinner’s explanation, after 10 interviews with the player and his entourage, and the independent panel agreed at a hearing on 15 August.
The Tennis Integrity Commission ruling ordered Sinner to forfeit the $325,000 prize money and 400 ranking points he earned at the tournament in Indian Wells.
Sinner later announced that he had fired his coaches.
