Andrea Petkovic thinks Jannik Sinner’s 3-month ban is ‘political decision’ as she questions WADA what exactly they’re doing
Jannik Sinner's controversial three-month ban after WADA's CAS appeal withdrawal created quite a stir in the tennis world.
Follow Us
Jannik Sinner, Andrea Petkovic (Images via ATP/X)
Jannik Sinner receiving a three-month suspension for negligence of his team members, has divided the tennis community. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), who last year insisted on handing Sinner a lengthy ban of between one to two years, chose to acquit him, albeit, they imposed on him only a three-month ban.
Andrea Petkovic also joined in the discussion and pointed out that an anti-doping agency agreeing to reach a settlement is problematic because it only shows players have the option to “bargain“. Petkovic thinks WADA just shouldn’t have interfered when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that Sinner was a victim of cross-contamination and didn’t intentionally use the performance-enhancing drug clostebol.
If you decide it’s still a little bit fishy and we want to get to the bottom of this, that’s another story. There are protocols and processes that need to be followed. But if you decide as WADA, that he hasn’t doped, what are we doing? Why are we banning him?
Andrea Petkovic said on Served with Andy Roddick podcast
WADA has withdrawn their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) just a couple of months before the scheduled hearing. Petkovic accused WADA of playing politics.
This is a political decision. This has nothing to do with sports. This is strictly sports politics. In politics, there is one party who wants one thing and there is another who wants another. A compromise will be found and nobody is happy and that’s exactly what has happened.
Andrea Petkovic added
WADA agrees to a case resolution agreement in the case of Jannik Sinner. Read more here: https://t.co/13kesYIQUH
— WADA (@wada_ama) February 15, 2025
All the important tournaments Jannik Sinner will miss due to ban
Jannik Sinner is on the cusp of losing his No.1 ranking because of the ban. As he is on the sidelines, his two rivals, World No.2 Alexander Zverev and World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz will battle it out to dethrone the World No.1 from the top of the rankings.
Sinner is expected to lose more than 2000 points. He won’t be playing the Qatar Open, where Alcaraz will be bidding to win his second title of the season following the Rotterdam Open which Sinner chose not to defend after defending the Australian Open.
After the ATP 500 event in Doha, the top players will shift their focus onto the season’s first ATP 1000 Masters event at Indian Wells, following which the Miami Masters will be held. The 23-year-old lifted the Miami Open last year.
Sinner will also miss the first two clay-court ATP 1000 Masters tournaments: the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open. As his ban ends on May 4, Sinner could make his comeback at the Italian Open, which is scheduled to start on May 7.
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4884 Articles Published)