ITIA CEO insists the organization doesn’t want ‘players to be fearful’ after Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner deal with doping controversy
ITIA chief Karen Moorhouse said the doping controversies could help players be more mindful of the substances they are consuming.
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Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner (via X)
2024 was the season where the two top players in men’s and women’s tennis, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek dominated. They both won the most number of titles in their respective category. But along with that, they made headlines for doping controversy.
Sinner failed a drug test in March when clostebol was found in his sample, while Swiatek tested positive in August. She was consuming melatonin which had trimetazidine. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) declared they bore no fault or negligence as they both were victims of accidental contamination.
Then on Monday (December 22), the ITIA announced that two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Max Purcell violated a doping role and has been provisionally suspended. Many players now fear they might be the next to violate doping rules unintentionally. ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse however tried to allay the fear and said such cases could help them be more mindful of substances they’ve been consuming.
If one outcome of the cases we have seen this year is it has made players sit up, pause, and reflect on the supplements they are taking, whether they need to take those supplements, and if there are better supplements they could be taking to protect themselves, then that is a good outcome from those cases. We don’t want players to be fearful, but we want them to be mindful of their obligations under the rules and we also want them to know who we are if they have any questions.
Karen Moorhouse told Tennis365
Max Purcell, recent US Open doubles champ ranked #12 in ATP doubles and #105 in singles, has begun to serve a provisional suspension, just announced by ITIA.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) December 23, 2024
There are few details yet, but the case involves Purcell admitting a breach of a rule involving a "Prohibited Method." pic.twitter.com/9fqHOIpVtp
Ex-CAS member says Jannik Sinner could be banned for failing test
Although the ITIA cleared Jannik Sinner of all wrongdoing, he still could face a lengthy ban. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) demanding a ban as they believe Sinner was responsible for the contamination. Now a former CAS member, Angelo Cascella, has predicted the result of the CAS verdict.
In these cases, there may be intent fault or negligence. In the first case, the sentence can go up to four years of disqualification, in the second, as requested for Sinner, it goes from one to two years.
Angelo Cascella told Sportmediaset
As CAS will give their verdict not before February, Sinner will have the chance to defend his Australian Open crown. He won his first major in Melbourne this year and doubled his tally by lifting the US Open.
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Gouri Das
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