Jannik Sinner Is Innocent And Did Not Deserve Suspension Says Patrick McEnroe
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Jannik Sinner has received support from Patrick McEnroe, the brother of seven-time Grand Slam champion John. He argued that the ATP world No. 1 should never have received his ongoing suspension.
Sinner's nightmarish saga began when he tested positive for clostebol at the 2024 Indian Wells Open after being accidentally contaminated by Giacomo Naldi, his physiotherapist at the time. Naldi had used trofodermin, a substance containing clostebol, on his fingers.
That substance was provided to Naldi by Umberto Ferrara, Sinner's physiotherapist until he removed him when the saga became public. In a recent interview, Ferrara made a startling revelation: he has used trofodermin for years, including when traveling with Sinner.
Although the story of how he became contaminated is highly unusual, some feel Sinner should not have been banned and that the entire blame should go to his team members who created the issue without the 23-year-old's knowledge.
McEnroe is among those on Sinner's side. Speaking to Tennis.com, the American said he was innocent based on the protocols in place and slammed those arguing for a punishment because of how other players have been treated.
"I don’t think he should have been suspended. They went through the process exactly as it was meant to go. I’m not saying it isn’t possible that players have figured out how to beat the system."
"But if you go by what we know, and what the proper protocols were, he was innocent. The argument that other players were treated badly, and therefore we should treat him badly, is absurd."
The International Tennis Integrity Agency cleared Sinner of wrongdoing in its five-month investigation. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) initially decided to appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
WADA never disputed that Sinner was accidentally contaminated. Despite acknowledging he never intended to take a banned substance, the governing body argued that he bore some fault for his team members' actions.
Ultimately, WADA decided to settle the case with Sinner's team rather than go through the CAS appeal hearing scheduled for April. Sinner accepted a suspension from February 9th until May 4th to close the issue.
The case settlement led to a polarized reaction in the tennis world. Novak Djokovic's Professional Tennis Players' Association released a fiery statement, accusing the system of being broken and biased in favor of and against certain players.
Sinner recently broke his silence in an interview following the case settlement announcement. The three-time Grand Slam champion reiterated his innocence but felt accepting the three-month ban was a lesser evil compared to CAS potentially giving him a longer ban if the hearing went badly.
Some might argue that Sinner should have rejected WADA's deal and attended the hearing if he was sure of his innocence. However, fearing that CAS might view the situation differently and impose a longer ban was an understandable concern.
Sinner's first tournament back will be on home soil at next month's 2025 Italian Open. Returning at a venue where he is guaranteed to receive significant support might make him feel at ease.
