The Jannik Sinner case divides tennis at the heart of its lack of transparency

Jannik Sinner took his first steps on the clay courts of the Madrid Open on Saturday, April 20. At that time, Sinner was undoubtedly the best player in the world, although the rankings did not show it yet. He had won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open in January before embarking on a stunning, consistent run. His pre-tournament interviews were dominated in the following days by his fledgling rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, a match that many believe will define the next generation of men’s tennis.

However, only Sinner, his team and the anti-doping authorities knew at the time that until the day of his first training session in Madrid, he had been banned from the tournament field or any other official court or field due to automatic activity. the provisional suspension he had received after testing positive twice for the banned substance clostebol.

None of that information was made public until this week when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and Sinner’s team jointly revealed that the 23-year-old had been found not at fault or negligent for the presence of clostebol in two of his antibodies. – doping test samples taken in March. It is significant enough that the number one men’s tennis player has twice tested positive for a banned substance, but it is even more significant because of the silence leading up to this revelation.

Most anti-doping cases result in a player being notified of a failed test and temporarily suspended until an independent court has decided on the case at the end of a long public process.

In Sinner’s case, he was notified of his first positive test on April 4, just four days after winning the Miami Open. Sinner immediately made an urgent application to lift the temporary suspension, and his request was granted a day later, meaning the ban was not publicly announced.

Sinner was notified of a second positive test on April 17th and the immediate suspension was lifted on April 20th. While his suspension came at the start of the season’s busiest stretch, Sinner was very fortunate that neither of those short-term suspensions involved tournament week.

While it’s rare for suspensions to be overturned, they can be appealed at an emergency hearing if the athlete alleges either contamination or that it involves substance abuse, with the hearing deciding whether the player is likely to be at fault at the end of the process.

A notable attempt to overturn the provisional ban occurred when Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska was provisionally suspended in January 2021 after testing positive for mesterolone.

Yastremska traveled to the Australian Open, which was played under severe Covid-19 restrictions, still awaiting the results of her application to overturn the ban, but the request and subsequent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was rejected. An independent tribunal finally found Yastremska not guilty or negligent five months later.

Among the many cases of positive klostebol among Italian athletes, the recent Marco Bortolotti, a 33-year-old case with a career high of 355, has similarities to Sinner. Bortolotti was notified of the test on January 30, 2024 after a positive test for clostebol last October. He immediately submitted a report, which ITIA accepted after seeking scientific advice, and it took just eight days for the agency to rule on February 7 that he was not at fault or negligent. The nature of Bortolotti’s explanation has been removed from ITIA’s final decision.

Since Sinner has been allowed to compete, two separate storylines have played out over the past five months. On the other hand, Sinner has had a breakthrough season, during which he has risen to the number one spot in the ATP rankings and secured his first grand slam win in Melbourne in a very consistent season.

Meanwhile, this case has continued to move forward in private, with a number of significant events surrounding it. For example, during his run to the semi-finals of the French Open, Sinner’s defense team responded to ITIA’s official notice of negative analytical findings, and he won his third-round match against Pavel Kotov a day after he was officially charged with anti-doping. rule violation. Sinner’s independent court was held the day after his first-round win at the Cincinnati Open last week. For some, the lack of transparency in his case has been troubling.

Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill, along with Simeone Vagnozzi, said in an interview with ESPN that the incident has tired Sinner. “If you’re a Jannik fan you would have seen a big change in his body language, his physicality on the pitch, his enthusiasm to be on the pitch – he’s struggled and I think it’s worn him down physically and mentally,” he said. “He got tonsillitis, which is why he missed the Olympics.

“I just want to emphasize that he is perhaps the most professional young man I have ever had the opportunity to work with. He would never do anything on purpose and he is in a situation that is incredibly unfortunate.

Sinner has been a popular player on tour, but since the announcement, some players have publicly taken issue with the incident and what they see as favoritism towards the No. 1 player, especially given the lengthy suspensions other players have received in the past. their cases were resolved. World No. 54 Roberto Carballés Baena summed up this sentiment in a comment on his Instagram story: “Once again. Different rules for different players.”