Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander thinks the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) may have prevented Jannik Sinner's doping case from being made public due to his position as World No. 1.
Wilander was the latest notable person in the tennis world to react to the news of Sinner twice testing positive for the banned substance clostebol at this year's Indian Wells Open.
Sinner avoided a suspension and was cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation kept private for five months. However, he did lose his ranking points and prize money from the event in Indian Wells, where he reached the semifinal.
Although figures like Mark Petchey defended Sinner and the handling of the case, others have not been as happy since hearing the news. Nick Kyrgios feels the Italian should be banned for two years.
Denis Shapovalov said he has nothing personal against Sinner but feels the ITIA acts differently depending on who the player is, creating an unfair situation for others who were accused and had their cases made public.
Wilander also does not view Sinner negatively after the incident. During an interview with Eurosport, the Swede said he believed the clostebol was taken accidentally and that the Australian Open champion was not attempting to cheat.
“We're so glad to have Jannik Sinner still playing on tour. He's a great guy. He's really, really good for the game. The rivalry with him and Carlos Alcaraz is epic already. And I'm convinced, 100%, that this was a complete accident by Jannik and his team. Of course."
The seven-time major champion was less sympathetic to the authorities who implement anti-doping procedures. He said the current processes create an unfair situation for other players who were suspended and subsequently cleared.
"But if you can be that good at testing, surely you have to be that good when it comes to the process, because not only would you destroy a player's career, but you could destroy the country in terms of bringing up tennis players. And Italy is doing great. So that's why we're lucky that Jannik has been able to keep playing."
"The professionalism is not good in terms of the doping organizations. They have to get it right. And it's unfair. And obviously, it's nothing to do with Jannik, but it's unfair to all the other players that have got caught and then have been cleared. That it was a result of a positive test, but they never did anything, and that's been proven in so many cases."
Wilander also thinks the ITIA Could have kept the case private because of Sinner's position as the world No. 1. It would be truly shocking if this were the case, but the former French Open winner does not believe it can be ruled out.
“Does it have anything to do with him being number one in the world? Possibly. And if it's possible that it does, that makes it even worse. I mean, if it was just a random situation where for one player it is public, the next player it isn't public, and it could be that the result is not 100%, that it’s very vague."
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