- Jannik Sinner failed two drug tests in March, but successfully appealed them
- Several tennis professionals, including Nick Kyrgios, reacted to the news on social media.
- Sinners’ doping case was resolved more quickly than Simona Halep’s.
You only have to look at the reaction to Jack Draper’s controversial double-winner on match point in Cincinnati last week to see how much tennis players love to feud on social media.
So when the far more serious news of world number one Jannik Sinner’s double doping violation and subsequent exoneration broke on Tuesday, it didn’t take long for the usual suspects to voice their views.
Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, led the charge: “It’s ridiculous, whether accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned substance (steroids)… you should be out for two years. Your performance has improved. Massage cream… Yeah, that’s fine.”
Britain’s Liam Broady said: “It’s not right whether Sinner was doped or not. Many players go through the same thing and have to wait months or YEARS until their innocence is declared. It’s not a good image.”
Japanese player Taro Daniel said: “This is clearly strange. Even if it was unintentional, the moment a player tests positive, they should be suspended for six months. The fact that there was no suspension, but this announcement came four months later, and they continued to compete in the tournament in the meantime, is completely different from previous policy protocols.”
The news of Jannik Sinner’s double doping violation shook the tennis world to its core
Nick Kyrgios was one of many professional tennis players who took umbrage at Sinner’s lack of punishment.
Denis Shapovalov simply said: “Different rules for different players.”
The ghost at the banquet is Simona Halep, whose anti-doping case followed a very different trajectory. The former Wimbledon champion was provisionally suspended in October 2022 and almost a year later was suspended for four years. She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and in March this year her sanction was reduced. We are still waiting for the reasons for that ruling.
Compared to this tangle of fabrics, Sinner’s case appears to be neatly tied up with a bow.
The fact that has surprised many players and fans is that we have not been told anything about the two failed tests until today, after Sinner was exonerated. The reason is that players are granted anonymity if they successfully appeal the provisional ban, as Sinner did.
But why did Halep’s case take almost a year to be resolved, while Sinner’s was resolved in four months, just in time for the US Open?
Mail Sport put this question to the International Tennis Integrity Agency and we were simply told that Halep’s case was much more complex and therefore took longer to investigate.
The players’ accusation, in general, is that Sinner received preferential treatment as a top player and a representative figure of the sport. It is an easy explanation, but it is instructive to mention the case of Marco Bortolotti, an obscure Italian doubles player.
Simona Halep’s anti-doping case took much longer to resolve than Sinner’s
Mail Sport was told Halep’s case was more complex and needed more time to investigate.
Some players have come out fighting and believe that Sinner has received preferential treatment.
In February this year, Bortolotti was charged with a doping violation for clostebol, but after he gave an explanation of involuntary contamination, there was no provisional suspension, no announcement and a month later he was acquitted, so here at least the world No. 87 doubles player appears to have been treated no differently than the singles No. 1.
What is clear is that tennis has a battle ahead of it to convince players and fans that the Integrity Unit has lived up to its name. But once players come out publicly to accuse the authorities of bias in favour of top stars, that battle may already be lost.
