WADA chief appeals Sinner doping case

Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, December 16, 2024
Photo credit: Will Murray/Getty

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency believes that Jannik Sinner May have been contaminated with the banned steroid lotibol.

But he claims the world number one still bears some responsibility for failing two doping tests last March.

Olivier Nigli, Director of the World Anti-Doping Agency Explains why the organization is appealing Sinner's steroid case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and seeking a one to two-year ban on the US Open champion.

More: An in-depth investigation into the Jannik Sinner doping case

Last March, Sinner twice tested positive for the banned steroid clotidol, with the International Tennis Integrity Agency declaring the levels to be “low” just days before the U.S. Open.

Australian Open champion Sinner was not suspended and allowed to compete after an independent tribunal ruled he was “not at fault” for steroid contamination in his body.

“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirms that an independent tribunal convened by Sport Resolution has ruled that Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner has committed two anti-doping rule violations under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP) and is not Without assuming any fault or omission, ITIA announced in a statement on August 20 that it tested positive twice for the banned substance Clostebol in March 2024.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Sinner has firmly denied doping or cheating.

in new interview AFP, Nigli, the director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said that even if Sinner's claims of contamination were true, he should still take some responsibility and be suspended for testing positive. That's why WADA is appealing Sinner's case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Niggli said.

“The judgment found that Sinner was not at fault. Our position is that the athlete still has responsibility for his entourage. “Therefore, this legal issue will be discussed (before CAS).

“We do not deny that this may be a form of contamination. But we believe that the application of the rules is inconsistent with case law.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency appeals the case of tennis player Jannik Sinner. Read more here: https://t.co/vExHGdmkZG

— World Anti-Doping Agency (@wada_ama) September 28, 2024

At the U.S. Open, Sinner said he was contaminated with the banned substance lotibol during an encounter with a physical therapist.

Sinner admitted he was “concerned” he might be banned, but he also believed he would be cleared because he believed the trace amounts of lotibol in his system strengthened his claim of unintentional contamination.

“I'm certainly concerned because this is my first and, you know, hopefully last time I'll be in this situation and position,” Sinner said. “There's a different part, we have to see the amount in my body, which is 0.000000001, so there are a lot of zeros before the 1.

“So of course I'm concerned because I've been a player who works very, very carefully in that regard. I believe I'm a fair player on and off the field.”

Sinner's case returned to the spotlight in September after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the Italian's appeal. Stefano Battaglino against the ban imposed on him in October 2023.

On September 12, 2024, the CAS Tribunal upheld the four-year TADP suspension order issued by the Independent Tribunal of First Instance against Battaglino, who, like Sinner, had tested positive for lotibol.

Battalino, who reached a career-high world singles ranking of No. 760 in July 2022, tested positive for lotibor and its metabolites following in-game testing in September 2022.

Ultimately, in Battalino's case, CAS ruled that he “did not prove the source of the positive test and provided arguments that were 'manifestly insufficient' to prove that the anti-doping rule violation was unintentional.”

WADA director Niggeli said he expected a decision on Sinner's appeal in the doping case in early 2025.

Asked about the timetable for a resolution of the appeal to CAS, Nigli told AFP: “There won't be anything by the end of the year.”