Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal is against Jannik Sinner’s ban as he had “no will to commit the crime”

Jannik Sinner's doping settlement has caused divided views within the tennis community, with several fans claiming favoritism played a part.

Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal is against Jannik Sinner’s ban as he had “no will to commit the crime”

Jannik Sinner and Toni Nadal (via X/Tennis Majors)

Jannik Sinner faces several weeks off after accepting a three-month suspension from WADA, a decision that has drawn heavy criticism from past and present players. However, Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle, has voiced his support for the World No. 1.

Sinner was exonerated from doping charges by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) despite testing positive twice for clostebol. The Italian star has defended that the banned substance inadvertently entered his system after a mistake from his ex-physio. Nonetheless, WADA didn’t accept the defense and went ahead to lodge an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

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The anti-doping agency was seeking that Sinner be given at least a one or two years suspension. But after a second review of the case, WADA decided to go into settlement with Sinner and agreed on a three-month suspension with the three-time Grand Slam champion. The agreement has led to divided views within the tennis community.

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Current players such as Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have revealed that favoritism played a part in the Sinner’s deal. But Toni Nadal believes that the 23-year-old didn’t have the will to commit the crime, and so wasn’t supposed to be punished.

I am against the sanction. I know Sinner personally and he had no will to commit a crime and you can’t treat a person like that for a mistake produced by chance. One has to punish the people who intentionally does things wrong and seeks his own benefit. And I know it’s not the case with Sinner. So, why do you want to sanction? It is true that they say that others who are not number 1 were sanctioned, because they did it wrong before.

Toni Nadal said via MARCA

The legendary coach added that he’s surprised that several players have attacked Sinner’s suspension settlement despite knowing that they aren’t fully cleaned themselves.

Toni Nadal excited about Roland Garros’ planned special ceremony for Rafael Nadal

A few days ago, the FFT president Gilles Moretton announced that Roland Garros would give Rafael Nadal a special tribute ceremony during this year’s edition of the event. It comes after several people close to Nadal, even his uncle Toni Nadal criticized how the Davis Cup gave the Spaniard a send-off ceremony last year.

Rafael Nadal (via ATP/X)

During the aforementioned interview, Toni Nadal was asked about the Roland Garros tribute. The 64-year-old said that the Nadal family is happy to accept the offer and Rafael Nadal will be satisfied with the importance of it.

The tribute at Roland Garros makes us very happy as a family. Rafael is very happy that he is being given this attention. I know that they have been preparing it for some time and I think that it will be a great tribute. For Rafael to receive a tribute in France and in the place where he has had the most sporting success, it fills him with satisfaction. I don’t know if there will be other tributes, but this one is very important for him.

Toni Nadal said

Rafa won the French Open 14 times in his career, more than any player in the history of the tournament. The Clay Court Grand Slam event will begin on May 25, and the date for the special ceremony will be revealed by the organizers.