‘Most corrupt sport’: Tennis world loses it over ‘disgusting’ Jannik Sinner detail
Two words have left the tennis world staggered as Jannik Sinner’s doping saga turns into “one of the biggest scandals in the history of sport”.
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Two words in the explanation of Jannik Sinner’s doping suspension verdict have left the tennis world staggered.
The ATP Tour’s top player’s long doping saga came to an end on Saturday night after he agreed to a three-month ban from tennis.
The world No. 1 has admitted “partial responsibility” for mistakes made by members of his team which led to him twice testing positive for traces of clostebol in March last year.
Australian Open champion Sinner has always said that clostebol entered his system when his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy.
The February 9 to May 4 suspension means Sinner will be free to play in the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the season, which begins on May 25 at Roland Garros.
He will be back in action just days before the Rome Open — the biggest tournament in the Italian’s home country.
It is eyebrow-raising details like this that have got tennis stars around the globe, including Australian Nick Kyrgios and two-time grand slam champ Stanislas Wawrinka, shaking their heads.
The most shocking detail surrounds two words included in the statement WADA released on Saturday night where the global anti-doping body said it had reached a “settlement agreement” with Sinner’s representatives.
The idea that a global doping policing agency could abandon principles of “black and white” verdicts to be muddied by a settlement has rocked the sport — and sets a goal-posting shifting precedent for athletes around the world to negotiate future doping bans.
It is the ugly look of the case being handled well away from public view that further adds to the outrage of those across the tennis world.
WADA said in its statement that the organisation had accepted that Sinner “did not intend to cheat” and “did not gain any performance-enhancing benefit” from the banned clostebol substance.
That has not been enough for many members of the tennis community to accept that justice has been served.
Kyrgios on Saturday night led the charge with a social media barrage.
The former Wimbledon finalist has been the most vocal player on tour to speak out against Sinner since the 23-year-old’s preliminary doping findings were made public last year.
“Dodgy as,” Kyrgios posted on X.
“So wada come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban. Obviously sinners team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3 month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost.
“Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.
“Bad day for tennis.”
He also posted: “So he was found guilty - hence the ban. But didn’t get stripped of anything and can play the French. Sad sad sad day”.
Kyrgios shared one message that claimed: “I know a lot of players that are feeling the same way at the moment so looking to hold live spaces next week so we can talk about it”.
Wawrinka also wrote: “I don’t believe in a clean sport any more”.
Former world No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov posted: “I just don’t get it! If you are absolutely 100 per cent sure of your innocence (as he was before with his lawyers), why you accepting 3 month ban?? Makes no sense to me”.
The tennis world has been left with so may unanswered questions that have left a bitter taste in the mouths of many.
The biggest question remains why both parties would even consider negotiating the case.
English media commentator Piers Morgan posted for his 8.8 million followers: “A ‘settlement’? I didn’t realise drug offence punishments in sport could be negotiated… what a joke”.
French champion Marion Bartoli told one media outlet: “When you put everything together, you still say to yourself, aren’t they taking the piss a bit?”
UK tennis journalist Sam Street also posted: “Letting Jannik Sinner pick his own suspension sends a worse message than not suspending him at all. The locker room must despise him”.
Outspoken UK tennis commentator known as “Pavvy G” on X was scathing about how the case concluded.
“Today is clear evidence that Tennis is immersed in corruption,” he posted as part of a social media barrage.
“I’m glad Sinner has finally been banned but the way that he’s been able to negotiate terms of his ban is unacceptable.
“Tennis is undoubtedly corrupt but the fact that they are so blatant about it, shows how much control and power they have in the sport.”
He called tennis the “most corrupt sport” in the world, asking how a player can negotiate a doping ban.
“This is one of the biggest scandals in the history of sport,” he posted.
He said it was “disgusting” that Sinner will not miss any grand slams.
The verdict may be in, but the scandal is far from over.
Equally as reputation-destroying for Sinner is the fact that he now must life with the fact he has agreed that he committed a doping infringement.
Fans around the world will not be forgiving of a player who, rightfully or wrongly, will forever be stamped with the title “drug cheat”.
Sinner’s statement showed he “accepted WADA’s offer” — instead of fighting to clear his name.
“This case had been hanging over me now for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year,” Sinner said.
“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”
WADA said separately that “Sinner did not intend to cheat” but that he would serve his suspension as he is responsible for the actions of his entourage.
Sport’s global doping watchdog confirmed it was withdrawing its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which was due to hear the case in April.
Sinner was facing a potential ban of two years after WADA appealed to CAS against his initial exoneration by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), announced in August.
The positive tests were not initially made public while the ITIA investigation was ongoing and Sinner had been allowed to carry on playing after successfully appealing provisional suspensions.
“We were satisfied that the player had established the source of the prohibited substance and that the breach was unintentional. Today’s outcome supports this finding,” said the ITIA on Saturday.
The ATP, which governs the men’s tour, said it welcomed the conclusion of the affair but added: “This case is an important reminder of players’ responsibility to carefully manage the products and treatments they or their entourages use.”
However, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a players’ union co-founded by Novak Djokovic in 2021, denounced an “unacceptable bias” in the decisions of anti-doping authorities.
The problem “is not only that the sanctions are different from one player to another. It is also the lack of transparency (...), the lack of credibility in this soup of acronyms of agencies responsible for controlling” players, the PTPA lashed out on X.
The body criticised “the lack of commitment of the ATP, WTA, Grand Slams, ITIA and WADA to reform and create a fair and transparent system.”
The ITIA’s original decision was made public just days before last year’s US Open, which Sinner subsequently won to claim his second Grand Slam after breaking his major tournament duck at the previous Australian Open.
Sinner then successfully defended his title at Melbourne Park last month, becoming just the fourth man to do so since the turn of the century alongside tennis icons Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
By that point he had confirmed his status as national hero in Italy by winning the ATP Finals in Turin and then starring in his country’s second straight Davis Cup triumph.
— with AFP
Originally published as ‘Most corrupt sport’: Tennis world loses it over ‘disgusting’ Jannik Sinner detail
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