WADA Vice President fires back at critics of Jannik Sinner’s three-month settlement: “It’s difficult to understand”
WADA revealed that after another review of Jannik Sinner's doping case it agreed that Sinner's explanation for contamination was plausible.
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Jannik Sinner (Image via X)
Since the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced Jannik Sinner’s three-month suspension settlement last week, there has been a flurry of criticism against it. This has led former and current players to believe that favoritism played a part in the deal. However, the anti-doping agency vice president Yang Yang has revealed that it was an open and transparent case.
ATP World No.1 Sinner tested positive twice for anabolic clostebol in March last year at the Indian Wells Masters. But, the Italian star defended that the banned substance inadvertently entered his system after his ex-physio massaged him with a cut on his finger with a product containing clostebol.
WADA reviewed the case after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had exonerated Sinner and they lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for the Italian to be banned for at least a year. Nonetheless, after another review, WADA agreed that Sinner’s explanation was plausible and well-evidenced.
Despite the heavy criticism received after the conclusion of the case, WADA Vice President Yang Yang has fired back, claiming that the case was just too difficult for people to understand.
The whole anti-doping process is highly professional and technical, which is really difficult for many to understand. One of our primary functions is to ensure that unique cases which do not fall squarely within the sanction framework can be adjudicated appropriately and fairly, provided that all parties and WADA agree.
Yang Yang said via Xinhua
Sinner’s suspension began on February 9 and is set to run until May 4. The World No.1 will be eligible to play at the Italian Open which starts on May 7. He didn’t play at the tournament last year due to injury.
WADA official explains why Jannik Sinner was given a three-month suspension
WADA has been heavily criticized for agreeing to a three-month suspension with Jannik Sinner, despite the body wanting at least a one-year ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sports. Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev are the two top players recently, who have slammed the short spell of the ban.
WADA Vice President Yang Yang revealed during the aforementioned interview that after revising Sinner’s case, the body proposed the minimum sanction to serve as a reprimand to the Italian star.
Under the current Code revision, it is already proposed that the minimum sanction in case of contamination is a reprimand, so [the sanction is] three months. It is well within what is recommended for adoption at the World Conference. So WADA considered a three-month ban was appropriate in Sinner case. We are pleased to have been able to deal with this matter in an open and transparent way.
Yang Yang said
Yang added that the settlement of doping cases didn’t begin with Sinner but was made part of WADA’s code in 2021, which made him eligible for it.
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Victor Okechukwu
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