Rome — Top-level tennis player Jannik Sinner said he was “very disappointed and “I was surprised,” he said.
The Montreal-based organization known as WADA announced on Saturday that it was seeking a ban of one to two years for the US Open champion, but said it had no plans to backdate the final ban. This means Sinner can retain his second grand title. Slam the title even if you are found guilty.
The announcement was made while Sinner was on court against Roman Safiullin at the China Open in Beijing.
“Obviously I am very disappointed and surprised by this appeal, to be honest. Because we’ve had three hearings. All three hearings had very positive results for me,” Sinner, 23, said after defeating Safiullin.
“You know, I wasn’t expecting that. I knew a few days ago that they were going to appeal, and that it would be official today. so… It’s amazing,” the Italian added. “We always say the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure everything is in the right place. Yes, I’m really surprised they appealed.”
Sinner tested positive twice for anabolic steroids in March but was not banned in an independent tribunal decision released by the International Tennis Integrity Agency last month. Because ITIA ruled that he was not responsible.
The explanation Sinner accepted was that the banned performance-enhancing drug had unintentionally entered his system through a massage by a physiotherapist who used a spray containing steroids to treat his amputated finger.
WADA said on Thursday it had filed an appeal with the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“It is WADA’s view that a finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ under the applicable regulations is incorrect,” WADA said in a statement. “WADA is requesting a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA does not seek disqualification for any consequences other than those already imposed by the trial court.”
WADA suggested the rules had not been followed correctly, despite Nicolas Zbinden, the prosecutor at the Tennis Integrity Agency who took Sinner’s case, being a lawyer who regularly handles high-profile cases for the global watchdog, including the successful appeal against Russian figure skater Kamila. Valiev.
If the parties agree to cooperate, an appeal decision from CAS could be reached quickly, within just a few months. At least that’s how it worked in another tennis doping case involving Maria Sharapova.
But the case is unlikely to be resolved before Sinner begins defending his Australian Open title in January. Sinner can continue to play while the appeal is pending.
Sharapova tested positive for the newly banned heart drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January 2016. She was suspended for two years by the International Tennis Federation in June of that year.
The Russian star appealed to CAS, which heard the appeal before three judges in New York in September of that year, and four weeks later ruled to reduce the ban to 15 months.
Sharapova’s entire process with CAS took just four months. This is much shorter than most doping cases, which typically last about a year. The complexities of selecting a panel of judges, finding hearing dates, and having the parties exchange documents and evidence from expert witnesses can cause schedule delays.
At the Indian Wells hard court event last March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid with ophthalmic and dermatological uses. This is the same drug for which San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended by MLB in 2022.
Sinner tested positive again in an out-of-competition sample eight days later.
He was provisionally suspended twice by the Tennis Integrity Authority as a result of these tests, but successfully appealed twice to Independent Tribunal judges and was allowed to continue competing on tour.
Sinner said his test results came about because his fitness trainer bought a generic spray called Trofodermin, which contains Clostebol, from Italy and gave it to Sinner’s physiotherapist to treat cuts on his fingers. The physical therapist then treated Sinner without gloves.
An investigation revealed that Sinner had trace amounts of steroids in his system. Sinner illustrated this point at a pre-US Open press conference by using eight fingers to count the number of zeros before the “1” in a sheep. .000000001”
The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation after 10 interviews with players and entourage, and the independent panel said it agreed at a hearing on August 15.
The tennis integrity group’s decision ordered Sinner to lose $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points he won at the Indian Wells tournament.
Sinner later announced that two trainers had been fired.
“We have a lot of confidence in (CAS), which has the final say in the case,” said Angelo Binaggi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. “I am confident that the only effect of the WADA appeal will be positive. Because his innocence will be made official.”
___
AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Lausanne, Switzerland, contributed.
___
AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
