Stan Wawrinka expresses his disappointment over Jannik Sinner’s mere three-month suspension

Jannik Sinner has accepted a WADA suspension from 9 February until 4 May regarding his doping case.

Stan Wawrinka expresses his disappointment over Jannik Sinner’s mere three-month suspension

Stan Wawrinka (in circle) and Jannik SInner (via X/Instagram)

Jannik Sinner‘s suspension, which was initially meant for two years but now has been reduced to three months, does not seem to make Stan Wawrinka happy. The Swiss player went on X to express his disappointment over the decision.

Weeks after defending his Australian Open title, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner accepted a WADA suspension from 9 February until 4 May. WADA had launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the 2024 decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to not suspend Sinner, who had been tested positive twice for clostebol, a banned substance.

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Jannik Sinner had previously been cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel after testing positive for the drug in March 2024. The ITIA said in August that the panel found that the Italian bore “no fault or negligence” for testing positive for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol—a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass. But WADA lodged an appeal with CAS last September, challenging the decision. It sought a ban of between one and two years, with a hearing scheduled for 16-17 April.

I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore.

A frustrated Stan Wawrinka wrote on X

However, on Saturday, WADA accepted Sinner’s explanation that he was inadvertently contaminated with clostebol by his physiotherapist’s use of a spray. The body accepted that Sinner “did not intend to cheat” and that the drug entered his system without his knowledge as the result of the negligence of members of his entourage. By virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence, hence, a three-month suspension was deemed appropriate for this case.

Nick Kyrgios calls this a “sad day for tennis”

The next tournament Jannik Sinner can play in is the Italian Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event, which begins on 7 May. He will miss prestigious hard-court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami in the US, plus many of the clay tournaments that build up to the French Open.

Jannik Sinner Australian Open 2025
Jannik Sinner (via Instagram)

Women’s top tennis player Iga Swiatek also faced a doping controversy in 2024 after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. Swiatek attributed the positive doping result to a contamination in a melatonin product she was using. The ITIA accepted her explanation, imposing a one-month suspension, which she served. The WADA decided not to appeal, finding her explanation plausible.

Along with Stan Wawrinka, several other tennis players are known for being vocally critical of the lenient treatment of these doping cases. Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has also taken a dig on X regarding the latest verdict on Sinner’s case, calling it a sad day for tennis and remarking that fairness in tennis does not exist.

The verdict on these cases leads to various discussions on fairness in tennis. Several other players who have faced doping allegations have been suspended for years, such as Simona Halep, who received a two-year ban which was later reduced to nine months, missing out on the important years of her career and leading to an early retirement.