Jannik Sinner’s lawyer have hit back against claims the world number one has been treated favourably after the world No 1 reached a settlement in his doping case.
Sinner was due to come before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April, after World Anti Doping (WADA) appealed the Tennis Integrity Agency’s decision to clear him of any blame for two failed tests last March.
The 23-year-old last week agreed with WADA to accept a three-month suspension to resolve the case.
Sinner, who has won the US Open and Australian Open since the case began, is serving the ban between February 9 and May 4. It leaves the three-time Grand Slam champion free to compete at the French Open, which begins on May 25.
When confirming the sanction, WADA stated it accepted Sinner ‘did not intend to cheat’ his exposure to the banned substance clostebol ‘did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.’
Sinner’s lawyer Jamie Singer has hit back at criticism following the settlement, after Novak Djokovic claimed many players believe there was ‘favouritism’ to the world No.1.
Jannik Sinner’s lawyer has hit back at criticism over the handling of the star’s doping case
Sinner reached a settlement with WADA last week, which will see him serve a three month ban
Novak Djokovic (left) claimed players believe there was ‘favouritism’ after Sinner’s case
‘I think the players are always hawks when it’s another player involved and possibly doves when it’s them,’ Singer said in an interview with Sky News.
‘It is very unfair. He [Sinner] has been through the process from the very beginning by the book. And there’s no favouritism. It just so happens that these circumstances have been very unusual.
‘He says he feels that he’s been treated quite harshly.
‘The players have quite a platform, but they don’t necessarily have the opportunity to investigate and get into all the details that are out there. So they make their opinions known. But perhaps the facts do need a bit more investigation.’
Singer added that Sinner needed to be persuaded to accept a three-month suspension to settle the case, rather than proceed to a CAS hearing next month.
Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, claimed the process has been ‘inconsistent’.
The Serbian star questioned whether top players have had favourably treatment citing sanctions received by Sinner and women’s world No2 Iga Swiatek – who accepted a one-month suspension last year after testing positive for trimetazidine, due to a contaminated melatonin supplement.
‘I spoke with several players in the locker room,’ Djokovic said earlier this week. ‘Not only in the last few days but also in the previous months. Most of them are not satisfied with how the whole process has gone, and they don’t think it’s fair. Many of them believe there was favouritism.
Djokovic claimed most of the players he has spoken to do not think the process has been fair
‘We have seen the cases of Simona Halep and Tara Moore, and other players perhaps less known, who have had difficulties for years to resolve their cases, or who have been suspended for a long time.
‘I think it is really time to do something and address the system, because it is clear that the structure does not work like this.
‘So yes, it is inconsistent and it seems very unfair to me, and that is all I have to say about it. We will see what happens in the near future, if the whole case will attract more attention and can shed light on other cases of lower-level players. And we have to keep in mind that Sinner and Swiatek, at the time, were No 1 in the world.’
The Professional Tennis Players Association, a body founded by Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, issued an explosive statement following Sinner’s case.
The association had claimed the anti-doping system is ‘a club’ and claimed case-by-case discretion was ‘cover for tailored deals, unfair treatment, and inconsistent rulings’.
Wada general counsel Ross Wenzel told the BBC that Sinner’s case was ‘a million miles away from doping’ after criticism of the process.
Wenzel added that Sinner was one of 67 athletes to have reached settlements in cases, since WADA introduced the possibility of case resolution agreements back in 2021.
Tennis’s anti-doping body, the Tennis Integrity Agency, had accepted Sinner’s explanation that the banned substance clostebol entered his system via a cream applied to a cut on his physio’s hand.
Sinner said the case had been ‘hanging over him for nearly a year’ before the settlement
The Italian star will be eligible to play in the year’s next Grand Slam event, the French Open
They judged he bore ‘no fault or negligence’ and issued no suspension. WADA appealed, seeking a ban because they believe the judgement should have been: ‘no significant fault or negligence’.
In a statement released following the case, Sinner said: ‘This case had been hanging over me for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year.
‘I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise Wada’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted Wada’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.’
