Jannik Sinner doping case: WADA seeks ban of up to two years in appeal

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced that it will appeal against the “no fault or negligence” finding in Jannik Sinner’s anti-doping case,

WADA is seeking a “period of ineligibility of one or two years,” in which the world No. 1 tennis player and two-time Grand Slam champion would be barred from competing in the sport at all levels. Sinner won the U.S. Open in New York just three weeks ago.

Sinner, who is currently playing at the China Open in Beijing, said he was “surprised” by WADA’s decision.

“Obviously I’m very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings. All three hearings came out very positively for me,” he told reporters after beating Roman Safiullin to reach the last eight in Beijing.

“We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position.”

Sinner tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, on two occasions: March 10, in-competition at the BNP Paribas Open held in Indian Wells, Calif, and March 18, out of competition.

An independent tribunal convened by the ITIA and conducted by Sports Resolutions ruled that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” for those positive tests in a hearing on August 15, but still found Sinner to have committed two anti-doping violations, for which he was stripped of his ranking points, prize money, and results from that event.

It accepted the Italian world No.1’s explanation that Sinner’s physiotherapist, Umberto Ferrara, had brought an over-the-counter healing spray containing clostebol to Indian Wells. His trainer, physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, cut his hand, and then used the spray on that cut. Naldi then conducted massages on Sinner, which led to transdermal contamination with the clostebol from the healing spray.

Sinner parted company with Naldi and Ferrara on the eve of the U.S. Open.

WADA is now challenging the decision that Sinner was not at fault for his violation. In a statement released today Saturday September 28, it said: “The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that on Thursday 26 September, it lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Italian tennis player, Jannik Sinner, who was found by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to bear no fault or negligence having twice tested positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024.

“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.”

In response, the ITIA issued its own statement.

“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decision to appeal the ruling of No Fault or Negligence in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, issued by an independent tribunal appointed by Sport Resolutions on 19 August 2024. Under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA has the final right to appeal all such decisions,” an ITIA spokesperson said.

“Having reached an agreed set of facts following a thorough investigative process, the case was referred to a tribunal entirely independent of the ITIA to determine level of fault and therefore sanction because of the unique set of circumstances, and lack of comparable precedent.

“The process was run according to World Anti-Doping Code guidelines; however, the ITIA acknowledges and respects WADA’s right to appeal the independent tribunal’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

In the ITIA’s full decision, Professor David Cowan said that “even if the administration had been intentional, the minute amounts likely to have been administered would not have had […] any relevant doping, or performance enhancing, effect upon the player.”

A positive test for clostebol carries a mandatory provisional suspension from tennis, but two further independent tribunals upheld Sinner’s appeals against those suspensions, which were active between April 4 and April 5 and April 17 and April 20. The success of those appeals meant that the two positive tests, and the attached suspensions, were not made public until the conclusion of the ITIA’s investigation into Sinner’s case. This drew allegations of double standards from some of Sinner’s tennis peers, but is in line with ITIA protocol.

In a statement released at the conclusion of the investigation, Sinner said: “I will now put this very challenging and hugely unfortunate period behind me.” The best men’s tennis player in the world will have to resume it now.

‘The news that Sinner will have been fearing’

Analysis from Charlie Eccleshare, tennis writer

Sinner emerged from months of uncertainty to win the U.S. Open three weeks ago. Now he has been put back under investigation, and the renewed scrutiny of the initial ITIA ruling that will come with it.

It wasn’t as though the world No. 1 necessarily appeared liberated in New York — his post-match press conference after the final was as much subdued as it was celebratory — but there was an air of Sinner having temporarily closed a chapter behind him.

The prospect of a WADA appeal was always there however, and Saturday morning brought the news that Sinner will have been fearing. He was able to compartmentalize pretty well during the five months from being told of the positive test to it becoming public in August. He even won the Cincinnati Open two days before the full decision in his case was released.

But in his post-final press conference in New York, he acknowledged that his demeanor and personality had changed during the investigation.

“Obviously, it was very difficult to enjoy certain moments,” he said.

“Even the way I behaved or how I entered the court in some tournaments was no longer the same as before.”

This decision from WADA, and the attached seeking of a ban of up to two years, will be another big challenge of his mentality.

When the independent tribunal convened by the ITIA ruled that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” — the key term that WADA is challenging — numerous players, some of them high-profile, expressed a view that the swiftness of his case pointed to double standards in the sport.

In the higher echelons of tennis there will surely be dismay at the world’s best male player facing a doping investigation, as WADA’s appeal will now be referred to CAS.

(Top photo: Kena Betancur / AFP via Getty Images)