Sinner “disappointed and surprised” as WADA challenges ITIA’s decision in doping case

World No 1 Jannik Sinner says he’s “very disappointed and surprised” after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced it is officially challenging the decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to clear him of any wrongdoing after his two failed drugs tests earlier this year.

The Italian tested positive, twice, for the banned drug, Clostebol, during the Indian Wells Masters in March but was allowed to play on after he successfully appealed provisional suspensions. He was eventually cleared of any fault or negligence in August after a tribunal accepted his explanation that the drug had entered his body due to the negligence of his then-physio Giacomo Naldi, who used a spray containing Clostebol to heal one of his wounded fingers at Indian Wells and exposed him to it during massages.

“Obviously I’m very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings,” Sinner said on Saturday at the China Open, where he is the defending champion this week. “All three hearings came out very positively for me.

“I was not expecting it. I knew it couple of days ago, that they were going to appeal, that today it’s going to go official, so…but yeah, it’s (a) surprise. We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. I’m just surprised that they appealed.”

Wada seeking one to two-year ban

WADA filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday, September 26 and said it was questioning the legitimacy of the original decision.

“It is WADA’s view that the finding of “no fault or negligence” was not correct under the applicable rule,” it said in a statement. “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. As this matter is now pending before CAS, WADA will make no further comment at this time.”

Sinner notably had his ranking points and prize money docked from his run to the semi-finals of the Indian Wells for failing the drugs tests. He missed the Olympics because of tonsillitis, but bounced back to win the US Open, just after the original ruling was released.

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