Daria Kasatkina asked an interesting question when speaking about Jannik Sinner's doping saga, even though she believes he's innocent.
Kasatkina has become one of the most outspoken players on the WTA Tour, because she generally speaks her mind. Even when the topic is uncomfortable, the Russian doesn’t mind sharing her thoughts, which is quite admirable.
She's spoken out against the war in Ukraine as well as the persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals in Russia, which has made her a persona non grata back home.
She hasn’t been back home because of some of her stances, so she’s not a player who says things just to say them. When she says something, she means it. When asked about Sinner's doping saga in a recent interview with TNNS, Kasatkina drew attention to the parallels between Sinner's case and another case.
The fundamental difference was that Sinner got off without any punishment compared to another player, who wasn’t as lucky. She also admitted that she’s aware of other cases similar to Sinner’s that haven’t been processed similarly.
Still, Kasatkina believes that Sinner is innocent, a sentiment echoed by a few other players, including Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Taylor Fritz.
"That part, you asked if I believed he was innocent and I do. Double standards [pauses] Jannik is able to hire the best lawyers...people who will have it all figured out. That's undoubtedly his advantage. I have an Italian coach and he knows other incidents that we are not aware of."
Kasatkina also wondered why Italian tennis players keep getting caught with the same drug, but that might just be because that drug is freely sold in Italy compared to the United States, where it isn’t.
She mentioned two more cases that she heard of in which a player didn’t get as lucky.
"There were two more players from Italy, female and male, who were caught with the same drug. The girl didn't get away because she didn't know where she had gotten it from...The dose, the drug yeah."
"I can't remember the names, I don't know those people. And the guy did know, and in the course of 24 days he provided proof. And he continued playing, so that was a similar case."
Providing proof of how the drug entered the system is literally what saved Sinner from getting suspended. He was able to provide proof of how the drug entered his system in record time, and the organization that deals with those matters found his explanation to be credible enough.
If he hadn't been able to prove how it entered his system, there is a very good chance that he would have likely been suspended from the sport, as other players in similar situations have been.
Still, the Russian player wondered why so many players from Italy have tested positive for this exact substance.
"On the other hand I don't get why they keep getting caught with the same thing in Italy. That I don't know, but I do believe it's possible because to get caught like that is really silly."
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