Alexander Zverev called the "whole process" of Jannik Sinner's doping case and the length of the Italian's ban "strange." Sinner has been suspended from tennis for three months as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said reached an agreement with the Italian's agents on Saturday. The Italian tested positive for the prohibited anabolic drug clostebol twice in March 2024, both during and after the Indian Wells Masters.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said in August that the world number one will not be barred from competing after an independent panel decided he had "no fault or negligence."
The panel accepted Sinner's account that clostebol entered his body through unintentional contamination during a massage from his former physio, Giacomo Naldi, who had used a steroid spray to treat a cut on his finger.
However, in September, WADA filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the ITIA's decision, requesting a ban of one to two years for Sinner.
The matter was set to be heard at the CAS from April 16-17. Sinner averted the danger of a longer ban by agreeing a deal with WADA.
Addressing the topic press conference at the Rio Open, Zverev weighed in on the resolution to the Sinner saga.
“It’s a strange situation because obviously it’s been a very long process where first he was exonerated, then WADA wanted to take a second look and things like that,” the world No 2 said.
“For me, I think there are two options. Either you are not guilty and you should not receive any suspension. Because if you are not guilty, then you are not guilty. You should not be punished.
“But if you are guilty, then I think that for taking steroids, three months is not a suspension.
“So for me, you have to decide whether it was his fault or not. If it’s not his fault, then he shouldn’t get a three-month suspension, but if it is his fault, then this is strange in a way.
“The whole process, the whole situation that has existed for the last year, has been almost strange.”