World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has responded to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decision to appeal his case, expressing surprise and disappointment.
Speaking after his hard-fought victory over Roman Safiullin at the China Open, where he came from behind to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the ATP 500 quarter-finals, Sinner addressed the appeal, which has overshadowed his on-court performance.
The Italian, who failed two doping tests in March for the banned substance clostebol, avoided a suspension after claiming the substance came from a spray used by his former physiotherapist. Despite three independent hearings clearing Sinner of any wrongdoing, WADA has decided to appeal the decision.
Sinner admitted his surprise, saying: “Obviously, I’m very disappointed and also surprised by this appeal because we’ve had three hearings and all of them have been very positive for me. I didn’t expect that. I knew a couple of days ago that they were going to appeal, but it’s still surprising.”
WADA has asked for a period of ineligibility of between one and two years for the 23-year-old and the appeal will now go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Despite the ongoing legal battle, Sinner remains focused on his tennis and continues to defend his China Open title.
In a longer statement, Sinner reiterated his frustration: “I’m disappointed to hear that WADA has chosen to appeal the outcome of my ITIA [International Tennis Integrity Agency] hearing after independent adjudicators exonerated me. There have been three hearings, each of which has upheld my innocence, and it’s hard to see what will be achieved by asking another set of adjudicators to look at the same facts.”
Sinner assured his fans that he will cooperate fully with the appeal process, saying, “I have nothing to hide. I will continue to cooperate fully with the process and will provide everything necessary to prove my innocence once again.”
As the case goes to CAS, Sinner remains focused on tennis: tomorrow he is scheduled to play a quarterfinal against Jiri Lehecka.