An Italian newspaper has reported on when a verdict will be reached in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) appeal of Jannik Sinner's doping case, and if the reports are correct, it could take a while.
It has been over a month since the news broke that Sinner had twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol during the Indian Wells Open in March. The development was kept quiet during the five-month investigation into the matter.
Sinner's explanation was that the clostebol entered his system unknowingly because his physiotherapist had traces of the substance on his fingers after using a spray for a cut on his finger.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency(ITIA) accepted Sinner's explanation, and he avoided a ban, although his prize money and ranking points from the Indian Wells Open were stripped.
There was a polarized reaction in the tennis world to the news. Some, such as Nick Kyrgios, said Sinner should be banned, while many others supported the Italian and did not believe he would ever intentionally dope.
Sinner hoped to put the ordeal behind him. He responded impressively to the scrutiny surrounding him after the news broke by winning the US Open, overcoming Taylor Fritz in the final.
However, the saga will continue after WADA decided to appeal the case. The body is seeking a ban of between one and two years for Sinner, feeling he bore more negligence than the ITIA's investigation found.
WADA does not dispute Sinner's explanation about how the clostebol entered his system but argues that the 23-year-old bears more fault for that happening than the ITIA determined, who had entirely blamed Sinner's team members who bought and used the spray containing clostebol.
Sinner undoubtedly wants WADA's appeal to be handled quickly, but the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that a verdict will probably not be reached until February next year.
La Repubblica seems certain that the verdict will arrive sometime in 2025. The ruling coming in February is not as obvious, which is why the newspaper used the term 'probably' when giving the most likely month.
That means Sinner is free to play until the end of 2024. Staying focused on tennis with the stresses of the case in the background might be challenging, but he is doing that well at the ongoing China Open, setting up a blockbuster final with Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing.
The ITIA issued a statement in response to WADA's appeal of the results of their investigation. It acknowledged that it has the right to do so and mentioned that the tribunal used to initially clear Sinner was entirely independent of the ITIA.
"The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decision to appeal the ruling of No Fault or Negligence in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, issued by an independent tribunal appointed by Sport Resolutions on 19 August 2024. Under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA has the final right to appeal all such decisions."
"Having reached an agreed set of facts following a thorough investigative process, the case was referred to a tribunal entirely independent of the ITIA to determine level of fault and therefore sanction because of the unique set of circumstances, and lack of comparable precedent."