Jannik Sinner earlier tested positive for the anabolic agent clostebol. Photo: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against an independent tribunal's decision in August to clear tennis world number one Jannik Sinner of wrongdoing after he failed drug tests.
WADA said the tribunal's finding of "no fault or negligence" on the Italian's part was incorrect under the applicable rules, and it would seek "a period of ineligibility of between one and two years" for the Australian Open and U.S. Open champion.
The tribunal, organised by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, had accepted Sinner's explanation that the anabolic agent clostebol entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy.
Sinner, who beat Roman Safiullin on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open, said he was surprised by WADA's decision.
"We cannot control everything, no? 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," he told reporters in Beijing.
"We always talk about the same thing. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. Yeah, I'm just surprised that they appealed."
The ITIA said in a statement on Saturday: "The process was run according to World Anti-Doping Code guidelines; however, the ITIA acknowledges and respects WADA's right to appeal the independent tribunal's decision."
Sinner said his physio, Giacomo Naldi, applied an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to his skin to treat a small finger wound and then administered massages between 5-13 March without using gloves, according to the ITIA.
The latest tennis player to become embroiled in a doping case after twice major winner Simona Halep, Sinner has maintained his innocence, saying the amount of clostebol found in his system was less than a billionth of a gram.
He fired his trainer and physio in August.
A number of players have criticised the tribunal verdict, including Britain's Tara Moore, who was sidelined for 19 months for failing a drug test before being cleared in 2023.
"I guess only the top players' images matter," she wrote on social media.
- Reuters