After always backing Jannik Sinner, Andy Roddick has to say ‘this’ about WADA’s ‘strange’ settlement with the Italian
WADA shockingly reached a settlement agreement with World No.1 Jannik Sinner a couple of months before the scheduled CAS hearing.
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Andy Roddick, Jannik Sinner (Images via ATP/X)
Andy Roddick has consistently backed Jannik Sinner when he was criticized for failing the drug test. He was also not a fan of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) demand for a lengthy ban on the Italian.
A ban of between one and two years loomed on the Italian but surprisingly, he was handed a three-month suspension after reaching a settlement with WADA. This incident rocked the tennis world as critics were convinced that Sinner’s situation was ‘political’ and had nothing to do with sports.
Renowned tennis journalist Jon Wertheim, during the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, called the Sinner-WADA case a ‘plea deal’. Although he thinks a ban of three months is ‘right and proportional’, the fact that it was given after the Australian Open and before the French Open was ‘almost more problematic’.
You could not have handpicked a better sweet spot for Jannik Sinner to take this deal which is either strange or the best coincidence that has ever happen to the Sinner team.
Andy Roddick replied
Sinner, whose ban will end on May 4, is expected to make his comeback at the Italian Open, which starts on May 7. He will be chasing his second title of the season after his successful run at the Australian Open.
Coco Gauff reacts to Jannik Sinner’s three-month ban
Coco Gauff is in Dubai for the season’s second WTA 1000 tournament. She will be chasing her first title of the 2025 season after her Australian Open and Qatar Open exit. The American too was asked about Jannik Sinner‘s three-month ban at the pre-tournament press conference.
I definitely think the process needs to be more up-to-date when it comes to players knowing what we can and can’t take.
Coco Gauff said
Aryna Sabalenka, when asked about WTA’s verdict said she didn’t believe that Sinner or Iga Swiatek intentionally used banned drugs. But she is ‘scared’ of the doping system and cannot ‘trust’ it.
Swiatek, who was contaminated by trimetazidine and faced a one-month suspension, indicated that she thinks the process the anti-doping system followed was ‘fair’. Jessica Pegula, on the other hand, didn’t mince her words and said WADA has the power to ruin players’ careers as the ‘process is completely broken.’
Sinner, who held the No.1 ranking since June last year, could lose the top spot to either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev. The 23-year-old was scheduled to play in the Qatar Open but was forced to withdraw due to the ban.
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Gouri Das
(4898 Articles Published)