The World Anti-Doping Agency has made it known that the Court of Arbitration for Sport will not be in a position to render a decision on the doping case involving Jannik Sinner before the end of 2024. WADA is seeking a ban of as long as two years for the 23-year-old Italian tennis star previously exonerated of wrongdoing after twice testing positive in March for traces of the banned substance clostebol.
The world number one and reigning Australian Open and US Open champion was cleared last August by an independent tribunal. The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation of accidental ingestion and found him to bear “no fault or negligence”. It said contamination occurred when Sinner’s physio used a spray containing clostebol to treat a cut before massaging him.
ITIA’s decision notwithstanding, WADA appealed the case, citing rules that athletes are liable for the substances contained within their persons, whether contaminated or otherwise. “We do not dispute that it could have been a contamination, but we believe the application of the rules does not align with case law,” said WADA director general Olivier Niggli.
The procrastination from the CAS leaves Sinner free to compete well into 2025. Meanwhile, there were also complaints over how the ITIA handled the case with the delay in showing the positive tests to Sinner and women’s world number two Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November after an August sample returned positive to the banned heart medication TMZ. WADA has been eager to emphasize its interest in protecting the reputations of sports stars in the social media age, with Niggli adding : “Protecting an athlete’s reputation should be our first concern.”
For now, Sinner’s fate remains undecided, leaving tennis fans and officials awaiting a pivotal ruling in 2025.
