Jannik Sinner tested positive for a banned substance, but he wasn't banned from competing on the ATP Tour, and some of his colleagues didn't like that.
The World No. 1 player has arguably been among the best competitors in the world this year, which his ranking only proves. However, all his hard work might be overshadowed by one misstep.
Sinner didn't receive a doping ban, even though he tested positive for a banned substance, 'clostebol', but the handling of the situation by the ITIA didn't make his colleagues happy.
Only recently, Simona Halep spent over a year away from the tennis courts, fighting a four-year doping ban imposed on her, but in the Italian's case, the situation was much different.
He didn't spend a single day away from the competition, even though he was provisionally suspended for five days, which was during the time when he was away from the courts regardless.
After five months of investigation, the ITIA, as well as Sinner, released a statement, which cleared the 23-year-old player from any wrongdoing, meaning he could continue competing without any problems.
However, the lack of any public announcement from the ITIA, when the Italian tested positive, as well as the lack of any information about the ongoing investigation enraged many.
It wasn't just these things that many fans and fellow ATP players had an issue with, but also the stark contrast in the handling of Sinner's doping case and those of WTA players Simona Halep and Tara Moore. It was Moore who was one of the first to speak out.
"I guess only the top players images matter. I guess only the independent tribunal’s opinion on the top players is taken as sound and right. Yet they question them in my case. Just makes no sense."
Soon enough, Nick Kyrgios joined her, as he, too, was not happy with how the situation was handled, claiming that the reigning World No. 1 player should have been banned for two years.
"Ridiculous - whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice."
One of the main arguments many fans had, was if Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing, why was he stripped of his prize money and points from the 2024 Indian Wells Open. This was something that the Australian wanted to know reasoning for as well.
"Then why did they take prize money and points from Indian wells? So he did something wrong or he didn’t? Because they did say he failed 2 tests."
But he was far from being the only player unhappy about the situation. French tennis player, Lucas Pouille, also reacted to the news, thinking the ITIA takes other players for 'fools'.
"Maybe we should stop taking us for fools, no?"
The calls were coming from every direction, with Vasek Pospisil, who is the co-founder of the Professional Tennis Player Association (PTPA) along with Novak Djokovic, also not happy about what happened.
"It’s even worse now that they are giving “Filing Failures” and going back months to see where you made errors in the details of your submissions. It’s happened to me already where I put the right address and time..."
"They never came to test me but later saw that my “in competition” vs “out of competition” entry wasn’t accurate. They went back 2 months to give me a strike for it. I appealed and it didn’t get overturned. So you can have 2 filing failures and 1 no show and be banned for 2 years."
Denis Shapovalov is among players who had his own share of controversy recently, when he was disqualified from his match at the 2024 Citi Open in Washington. According to the Canadian, different rules apply to different players.
"Different rules for different players. Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now."
There were many, many more players who were not happy about how the situation was handled, especially in light of other suspensions, and Liam Broady was also among them, claiming it was 'not a good look' for the sport.
"Whether Sinner was doping or not. This is not right. Plenty of players go through the same thing and have to wait months or YEARS for their innocence to be declared. Not a good look."
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