The International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) announced on Tuesday that it had sanctioned world number one Jannik Sinner after he twice tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol. It also said an independent adjudication panel convened by the ITIA had reviewed the investigation into Sinner’s doping case and found “no fault or negligence” on the part of the Italian player.
The ITIA stripped Sinnar of his ranking points, prize money and results from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, where his first positive test occurred on March 10 and his second on March 18. Sinnar was provisionally suspended as required for a positive analytical result for an unspecified substance (AAF) after two tests. In both cases, Sinnar appealed the suspension and an independent committee convened by the ITIA reviewed and upheld the appeals, allowing Sinnar to continue playing.
“I will do everything in my power to remain compliant with the ITIA anti-doping program and I have a team around me that is very careful about compliance,” Sinner said in a statement on Tuesday.
The entire process was carried out in accordance with the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) regulations, but it did not calm Sinner’s fellow players.
“Different players have different rules,” said Canadian Denis Shapovalov. “I can’t imagine how the other players who were suspended for contaminants are feeling right now,” he wrote a minute ago.
Shapovalov expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the incident (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
“Shouldn’t they stop making fun of us?” said France’s Lucas Pouille.
“Whether it was accidental or planned, to be tested for a banned substance (steroids) twice… should get you banned for two years,” said 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios.
American player Tennys Sandgren added: “This is ridiculous. Reusing steroids in massages? The ATP is always looking out for ways to make money. Good for business, bad for transparency and integrity.”
Perhaps most telling was the opinion of Tara Moore. The ITIA provisionally suspended Moore in May 2022 after she tested positive for the anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone. Like Sinner, Moore appealed the provisional suspension, but her explanation was not accepted. Moore was subsequently unable to play for 19 months, but was acquitted after an independent tribunal convened by the ITIA ruled that she was neither negligent nor at fault in testing positive. The tribunal determined that contaminated meat was the cause of her positive test.
“I think only the image of the top players matters. Only the opinion of the independent tribunal on top players is deemed sound and correct. But my case has called that into question. It doesn’t make sense at all,” she said.
Going deeper
World number one Jannik Sinner punished after testing positive for banned substances twice
Moore’s example and her emotions get to the heart of the reaction to the Sinner case: even though the process was conducted according to ITIA protocols and comparing different cases is not particularly useful, it reinforces suspicions of a pervasive double standard in tennis that inevitably comes to light when these emotions are directed at doping and the integrity of the sport.
The best players receive favorable schedules, receive appearance fees from certain tournaments, and are listened to more carefully if they complain about certain issues. Players largely understand and accept this, and the fact that the top players have earned their status. Elite players win the matches, the tournaments, and the prize money. They are a major draw for spectators and television stations. Tennis benefits from the superstar names, and the overall investment and interest in the sport is heavily tied to their presence.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t outrage, even in situations that have nothing to do with cheating or sporting integrity. Take this year’s French Open, for example. Poor weather in the first week forced most players to fight through a series of rain-delayed and rescheduled matches. The best players, playing on covered show courts each day, thrived in the early rounds without such worries.
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Comments from some players following Sinner’s sentence have highlighted a perception that superstars are being given special treatment in one of the sport’s most contentious areas. Much of the frustration stems from a deep-rooted feeling that tennis authorities, from in-match refereeing to the ATP and WTA tours, pander to top players.
In a statement announcing Sinner’s punishment, ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said: “We take any positive test extremely seriously and always apply the rigorous procedures set out by WADA.”
“The ITIA conducted a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the positive test and Mr. Sinner and his representatives have cooperated fully with this investigation.”
In 2017, Maria Sharapova returned from a 15-month doping suspension after testing positive for meldonium and was given a wild card into the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The tournament even delayed the end of the first round to allow Sharapova, whose suspension expired on Wednesday, to play.
“This is not good,” Barbora Strycova, another player serving a six-month suspension after testing positive for the stimulant sibutramine (which she claims comes from a weight-loss supplement), said at the time.
Sharapova in the semi-finals of the 2017 Porsche Grand Prix (Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images)
“She’s Maria and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not going to get angry. I’m actually a bit shocked by what’s happening at the tournament in Stuttgart, but I can’t change it so I try not to think about it.”
It is easy to understand why players, whether they are under ITIA investigation like Moore or other ATP players, feel similarly about Sinner’s case. Moore and Simona Halep, who was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat, also appealed the mandatory provisional suspensions.
Sinner won his case, but Moore and Halep lost, and the provisional suspensions were made public when their appeals were rejected. Moore was suspended for 19 months. Halep was suspended for the same period, but was reinstated after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) retroactively reduced her four-year suspension (imposed by the ITIA) to nine months. CAS did not provide detailed written reasons for the suspensions.
Meanwhile, Italian doubles player Marco Bortolotti, who reached a career-high ranking of 87th, like his compatriot, was spared a ban this year after being found to have committed no fault or negligence against Clostebol’s AAF.
In 2021, two Italian athletes, Matilde Paoletti and Mariano Tamaro, both 17 years old at the time, tested positive for Clostebol. The same process was followed: mandatory provisional suspension, appeal, investigation, explanation and adjudication. Paoletti was found to have “no fault or negligence”, while Tamaro was suspended for two years. Different cases have different outcomes. Another Italian, Stefano Battaglino, was banned for four years last November after testing positive for Clostebol, with an independent adjudicating body finding that the anti-doping rule violation was intentional.
Moore (left) returned to the WTA Tour this year (Tom Dulat/Getty Images for LTA)
Each case differs in evidence and complexity when it comes to the methods of investigation. But the impression remains that players are being treated differently, or that Sinner has escaped the ordeals experienced by Moore, Halep (a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one) and others. One of the benefits of being an elite player in tennis is financial access to swift legal assistance and the ability to mobilize resources quickly. While the players’ reactions are directed at the player in question, Sinner, they ultimately reveal feelings about the tennis system.
After all, Sinner will start playing in the U.S. Open on Monday, likely with the most favorable schedule and all the other perks afforded to top players. It remains to be seen how his fellow professionals will receive him.
(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
