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World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has expressed disappointment and surprise over the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) appeal of a decision that cleared him of any wrongdoing following two positive drug tests. WADA announced it is pursuing a ban of one to two years for the U.S. Open champion. Still, any potential suspension will not be backdated, allowing Sinner to keep his second Grand Slam title if found guilty.
The case will be taken up by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which may not reach a resolution before Sinner's defense of his Australian Open title in January. In the meantime, he is allowed to continue competing. This announcement came during Sinner’s match against Roman Safiullin at the China Open in Beijing.
In March, Sinner tested positive for an anabolic steroid, but an independent tribunal ruled that he would not be banned, as it concluded he was not at fault. Sinner explained that the substance entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a steroid-containing spray for a cut. WADA officially filed the appeal to CAS on Thursday.
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The appeal to the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) means that the case might not be resolved before Sinner begins defense of his Australian Open title in January. Sinner can continue playing while the appeal is being heard.
The announcement was made while Sinner was on court against Roman Safiullin at the China Open in Beijing.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings. All three hearings came out very positively for me. You know, 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 ... it’s surprise,” the Italian added. “Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position,” the 23-year-old Sinner said after beating Safiullin.
Janik Sinner's Triumphs
The no.1 ranked Jannik Sinner on September 8 beat USA's Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to win the US Open title for the first time. The second Grand Slam title win came for Sinner weeks after he was exonerated from the doping case. This was Sinner's maiden US open. At the 2024 Australian Open, Sinner defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals to reach his first major final.
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