“What a joke,” Piers Morgan slams Jannik Sinner’s ‘settlement’ with WADA amid doping row

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has accepted WADA's three-month suspension from the sport due to his doping case.

“What a joke,” Piers Morgan slams Jannik Sinner’s ‘settlement’ with WADA amid doping row

Piers Morgan (circle) and Jannik Sinner (via Instagram)

Piers Morgan, popular British journalist and television presenter, has expressed his disappointment on X over Jannik Sinner‘s three-month doping ban. He was evidently very surprised by the fact that a doping case punishment could be negotiated by a guilty athlete.

Jannik Sinner commenced his 2025 season with the Australian Open, where he reigned as the defending champion, clinching his third Grand Slam title. He withdrew from the Rotterdam Open and was set to return to tour with the Qatar Open. However, the World No. 1 is now suspended from February 9 to May 4.

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In 2024, Jannik Sinner tested positive twice on doping tests. The ITIA had last year accepted his explanation that clostebol, a banned substance, had entered his system without his knowledge via his physiotherapist’s use of a spray. WADA, which was seeking to ban Sinner from the sport for at least two years, had challenged the decision last year by the ITIA of not suspending Sinner for what the ITIA judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March.

A ‘settlement’ ? I didn’t realise drug offence punishments in sport could be negotiated… what a joke.

Piers Morgan wrote on X

WADA had originally appealed the ITIA’s ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. This hearing was scheduled to take place between 16 and 17 April. But Sinner has now accepted the three-month ban, and the next tournament he can play in is the Italian Open, which commences on 7 May.

Jannik Sinner will miss out on many of the clay tournaments before the French Open

Jannik Sinner will miss the prestigious hard-court tournaments of the ‘Sunshine Doubles’ during his suspension. Sinner, known for his forte on hard court, will also very conveniently miss out on many of the clay tournaments before the French Open, making people question the strange timing of this suspension.

Jannik Sinner Australian Open 2025
Jannik Sinner (via Instagram)

Not long after Jannik Skinner and the WADA settled on a three-month ban as retribution for two positive doping tests of the Italian, many other tennis players began to weigh in on the development. They expressed their dissapoinment on the lack of fairness in the sport and the perceived leniency in dealing with these cases.

Some of these players include Nick Kyrgios and Stan Wawrinka, who took to X to air their frustration. Kyrgios is known for being outspoken on the doping issue for a very long time and has called this a “sad day for tennis“.

Doping issues have plagued the careers of many tennis stars, with a lot of them serving lengthy bans. However, the situation for the top players currently in the men’s and women’s sport is rather different and ‘unfair’ or ‘lenient’ according to many, as both Jannik iInner and Iga Swiatek faced a very small suspension for their doping cases.