The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) continues to investigate Jannik Sinner's doping case despite reports that the body had decided not to appeal.
The news of Sinner's two positive tests for the banned substance clostebol at the Indian Wells Open in March shook the sport to the core and has generated debate ever since.
Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing and avoided a ban. However, some fans and players expressed annoyance about the case being kept private for five months until the week before the US Open and that Sinner was allowed to keep playing.
The controversy surrounding the Italian's case did not negatively impact him at the US Open, though. Sinner defeated Fritz in a one-sided final to secure his maiden title in New York and his second overall.
Widespread crowd support for Sinner throughout the year's final Grand Slam showed that fans in the U.S. at least believed the 23-year-old was not to blame for the positive tests and should be forgiven.
The 1988 US Open winner Mats Wilander thinks Sinner's popularity will increase further because of his humility. He obviously thinks that attribute is more important than his two positive tests for a banned substance.
Although the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared Sinner in their investigation, a cloud has remained over the world No. 1 because WADA is investigating the process to ensure that everything was done correctly.
On Tuesday morning, reports from Italian publication Corriere della Sera surfaced that WADA had made a final decision not to appeal Sinner's case. This would have come as a great relief to the US Open champion, finally allowing him to put the saga fully behind him.
However, those reports have turned out not to be true. WADA has yet to determine whether appealing the case would be appropriate, and its review is still ongoing.
The body made a brief statement to the tennis editor and writer Adam Addicott, confirming that no decision has been made and referring to a part of the World Anti-Doping Code regarding the deadline.
"WADA’s review of this case is ongoing. No decision has been taken on that yet. For the deadline, read 13. 2. 3.5 of the World Anti-Doping Code. In addition you may want to check the ITF’s anti-doping rules for further possible provisions regarding deadlines."
Sinner undoubtedly hopes the WADA investigation does not take an extended period and that it ends with no further action. Although he managed well at the US Open, the case being appealed would undoubtedly be hard to cope with.
However, these investigations can sometimes take a long time to complete. The authorities want to ensure that every precise detail of the case they are looking at is examined thoroughly so they do not miss a detail that could be crucial to making a decision.
The world No. 1 will try to stay focused on matters on the court for the rest of the season. He returns to action in two weeks in Beijing, which does not allow him much time to celebrate his US Open win.