WADA Director reveals key reasons why Jannik Sinner’s doping case was appealed to CAS
Jannik Sinner has been in murky waters ever since failing two drug tests in March 2024, with WADA Director now shedding light on the case.
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Jannik Sinner and Olivier Niggli (via X/SuperSport)
Jannik Sinner’s career was dealt a major blow after he failed two drug tests in March. Despite being exonerated from any punishment following the doping saga, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) a few weeks later. The Director General of WADA Olivier Niggli has revealed the key reasons for the appeal.
In August, the ITIA announced that Sinner twice tested positive for banned steroid clostebol during the Indian Wells Masters. The Italian successfully appealed against a provisional suspension. After further investigation by the ITIA, it was found that there was no fault or negligence on Sinner’s part.
As a matter of fact, Sinner argued that the substance entered his system after his former physio Giacomo Naldi used a skin cream containing clostebol on his cut before massaging him. However, his exoneration led to mixed reactions from the tennis community. In September, WADA announced that they would appeal the case to CAS, claiming that they were seeking up to a 2-year suspension for the World No.1.
During a recent interview, WADA Director Olivier Niggli revealed that the body did not aim to prove that Sinner was at fault, but contested that the Italian should bear some level of responsibility.
It was considered in the decision that there was no fault on the part of Sinner. Our position is that there is still a responsibility of the athlete in relation to his entourage. So it is this legal point that will be debated (before CAS). We do not dispute the fact that it could have been a contamination. But we believe that the application of the rules does not correspond to the case law.
Olivier Niggli said via AFP
Niggli then confirmed that CAS will not be making any ruling about the case before the end of the year. However,he didn’t specify when the case hearing will ultimately begin.
Olivier Niggli believes the concerns about doping cases should be protecting players
Doping has been a hot topic of discussion throughout the 2024 season. It started with Simona Halep’s 4-year ban being reduced to nine months by CAS despite the significant damage to her career. Then, Jannik Sinner’s doping case, and finally, Iga Swiatek received a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine.
However, these cases have caused serious damages to the reputation of these players. During the aforementioned interview, WADA Director Olivier Niggli revealed that the first concerns must be about protecting players.
Personally, I think that protecting an athlete’s reputation should be our first concern. We live in a world where social media is what it is and means that a reputation can go up in smoke in a very, very short time.
Olivier Niggli said
Sinner and Swiatek will be back on the court at the Australian Open which starts on January 12. The former is aiming to defend the title, having won this year, while the latter will aim to bounce back from her poor season-ending display.
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Victor Okechukwu
(708 Articles Published)