'Was It His Fault, Or Not': Zverev Not Happy With Resolution Of Sinner's Doping Case
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Alexander Zverev joined the list of players who were surprised by the resolution of Jannik Sinner's doping case.
It seemed that the reigning ATP World No. 1 player would learn whether he would be allowed to continue competing this April. He was set to appear on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after an appeal to his doping case from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
But out of nowhere, WADA released a statement, confirming that they and Sinner reached an agreement, which resulted in a three-month suspension for the Italian player.
It was a surprising resolution for many reasons. First, no one expected the case to be settled before the court day, and second, it's not very common for WADA to "agree" with players on their suspension.
Former World No. 1 player Daniil Medvedev was one of those surprised by how the case ended. In a bit ironic way, the Russian player said that he hopes players in the future will also be allowed to choose the length of their suspensions.
Now, his rival Zverev also shared his thoughts about the case. The German player is set to compete at the 2025 Rio Open, and he spoke to Clay ahead of the ATP 500 tournament.
Zverev admitted that he was quite confused by how the case was decided. According to the three-time Grand Slam finalist, it's important to determine whether Sinner was at fault or not.
"For me, it’s either you have to decide was it his fault or was it not his fault. It’s a weird situation because it’s been obviously a very long process where first he is cleared, then obviously WADA wanted to have a second look at it and stuff like that."
Zvrev thinks that if the player was not at fault, then they should not be banned. However, if Sinner was at fault, then his suspension should be much longer than three months.
"To me, I think, you know, there’s two options. Either you’re at no fault and you should get no suspension at all. Because if you have no fault, then you have no fault. You shouldn’t get punished."
"But if you do have fault, then I think for taking steroids, three months is not a suspension. So for me, it’s either you have to decide was it his fault or was it not his fault."
For Zverev and many other players, not only the resolution of this case but also the whole process was very confusing. Since then, many called for much more transparency in how doping cases are handled.
"If it’s not his fault then he shouldn’t get a three-month suspension, but if it is his fault then this is weird in a way. The whole process, the whole situation that has been there for the past year almost it’s been just strange."
Coincidentally, it can be Zverev who could profit from Sinner's suspension. With the Italian player unable to add any points to his total in the following three months, Zverev will have the best chance to become the new World No. 1 player.
