Jannik Sinner has expressed his disappointment and surprise at the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) decision to appeal his doping case.
Sinner tested positive for a banned substance, clostebol, in March, which required an independent investigation. That investigation did happen, and it cleared him of any wrongdoing.
It was an important moment for the Italian because he had to endure months without any idea of what might happen. If he hadn't been cleared, he would have had to stop playing to serve a suspension, which was the last thing he needed at that time.
However, it seems he might need to endure a few more challenging months because the Italian will have to endure one more trial. This time around, it's an appeal on the case by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Speaking after his second-round win at the 2024 China Open, Sinner was hugely disappointed to see them pursue this course of action. Still, he once again repeated what he often says, and it's that he can't control everything.
" Well, 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. You know, I was not expecting it."
It was a bit surprising to see how Sinner reacted to the news because he looked distracted in his most recent match at the China Open. Many of his fans thought it had something to do with the news, but apparently, he already knew they would appeal his case.
"I knew it couple of days ago, that they were going to appeal, that today it's going to go official, so... But yeah, it's surprise. 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."
It's an interesting situation because the appeal is certainly surprising, not only for Sinner. If successful, it could result in Sinner being suspended for one or two years, which would be a shocking outcome.
He's the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour and arguably the best player in the world, meaning he would be certainly missed. There are no indications as to how this appeal might go.
Sinner didn't look too worried, as he believed that the truth would prevail in the end. He didn't do anything willingly, and the contamination resulted from a mostly bizarre sequence of events, as he described it.
Even so, it might not be enough. WADA will seemingly appeal to procedural aspects, which could doom him as the procedure in the situation was always a bit questionable. In the meantime, Sinner will likely focus on his career and control what he can. The CAS ruling likely won't come anytime soon, so he might need to wait until next year to get it.
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