'Never Put In Two Good Days Of Work': Roddick Tears Into Swiatek And Sinner's Critics
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Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick spoke about Iga Swiatek's doping case possibly setting a precedent for Jannik Sinner's, but also ripped into other players who have criticized the pair.
Sinner and Swiatek's cases shocked the tennis world and enraged many players, who felt the handling of both cases was unfair to other players who had been accused of doping.
Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine in August and received a provisional suspension on September 12th. However, she successfully appealed it after testing proved her explanation of a non-prescription medicine being contaminated with trimetazidine.
The four-time French Open champion accepted a one-month ban, most of which she already served during the 22 days she was provisionally suspended from September 12th until it was lifted on October 4th.
Sinner hoped his ordeal might be over after the International Tennis Integrity Agency cleared him of wrongdoing in its five-month investigation after he tested positive for the prohibited substance clostebol.
The World Anti-Doping Agency ended that dream by appealing the decision to clear him. It wants Sinner banned for one to two years, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport will make a ruling sometime in 2025.
In an episode of the Served with Andy Roddick Podcast, the 2003 US Open champion stated he did know how Sinner would escape without any suspension when Swiatek received a month in her case.
While Swiatek bought a legal product that had been contaminated, Sinner's physio used a spray that had clostebol in its ingredients and gave the Italian massages that led to the banned substance entering his system.
"The thing that's interesting is I'm always obsessed with precedent, right? So, they will say the precedent was set that she (Swiatek) was suspended for a month. I don't know how Sinner gets any less than that. With Swiatek, it wasn't someone on her team."
"It wasn't as if someone who did it to her like the Sinner case, assuming we believe the story he's told. I'm not saying you have to. I just don't think he would risk his entire career for something that didn't enhance performance. I've said it many times. If he knowingly did it and got zero benefit, I'd actually take a larger suspension just for stupidity."
"Now we're looking at the February 11 date for Sinner and WADA (CAS hearing). Does WADA feel like they have to do something? If it's a month, like Iga, which I feel at this point they have to do, like they've set precedent."
"I'm not going to go after Sinner because I don't think he knew. I don't think he's that dumb. I just don't. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll never know. Best player on earth and worst doper that's ever lived, maybe."
Nick Kyrgios has been among the most critical of Sinner and Swiatek, and Eugenie Bouchard was among those to agree with the Australian, but Rodick slammed players who have gone after Sinner and Swiatek despite being nowhere near as successful as them.
"Players that are chirping about these champions that will be Hall of Famers, when they've never put in two good days of work together simultaneously in their lives, it's all just like I kind of roll my eyes at all of it. There's a serious issue."
