WADA appeals Jannik Sinner’s doping verdict and requests a suspension

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against an independent tribunal’s August decision to clear world number one Jannik Sinner of wrongdoing after he failed doping tests, WADA said on Saturday .

The tribunal’s finding that there was “no fault or negligence” was incorrect under current rules, WADA said in a statement.

WADA said it would seek a ban of one to two years for Italy’s Sinner, who won the Australian Open and US Open this year.

The announcement came as Sinner was on court against Roman Safiullin at the China Open in Beijing.

Sinner tested positive for an anabolic steroid twice in March, but was not banned in an independent tribunal decision announced on August 20 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), as the ITIA found that he had not was to blame.

Sinner’s accepted explanation was that the banned performance enhancer entered his body unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger.

WADA said it lodged an appeal with the Swiss-based CAS on Thursday.

“WADA believes that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was incorrect under the applicable rules,” WADA said in a statement. “WADA is aiming for a ban of between one and two years. WADA does not seek annulment of results, except those already imposed by the trial court.”

WADA suggested the rules were not followed correctly, despite the tennis prosecutor’s integrity authority being a lawyer who regularly works on high-profile cases for the global watchdog, including the successful appeal against Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

An appeal decision to CAS could come quickly – even within a few months – if the parties agree to work together. This is how it worked in another high-profile doping case in tennis, in which Maria Sharapova was involved.

Still, the case is unlikely to be resolved until Sinner begins defending his Australian Open title in January.

Sharapova tested positive for the newly banned heart drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January 2016. In June of the same year she was banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation.

The Russian star appealed to CAS, had an appeal hearing in front of three judges in New York in September and received the ruling four weeks later that reduced her ban to 15 months.

Sharapova’s entire process at CAS lasted just four months – much shorter than most doping cases, which typically last about a year. The schedule may be stalled due to the complexities of selecting a jury, setting a hearing date, and exchanging documents and expert evidence between the parties.

During the Indian Wells hardcourt event in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmic and dermatological purposes. It’s the same drug for which San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended by the MLB in 2022.

Eight days later, Sinner tested positive again in an out-of-competition sample.

As a result of these test results, he was twice provisionally suspended by the Tennis Integrity Authority, but twice successfully appealed to an independent judge and was allowed to continue competing on the tour.

Sinner said his test results were because his fitness trainer in Italy purchased an over-the-counter spray called Trofodermin that contained Clostebol and gave it to Sinner’s physical therapist to treat a cut on the physical therapist’s finger. The physiotherapist then treated Sinner without gloves.

The ITIA said it accepted Sinner’s explanation after ten interviews with the player and those around him, and the independent panel agreed at a hearing on August 15.

Sinner later announced that he had fired his two coaches.

Information from Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.