The tribunal’s finding of “no fault or negligence” not correct, according to WADA
It was in August that an independent tribunal made the decision to clear Jannik Sinner of any wrongdoing from his failed drug tests. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has now made an appeal on the Sinner case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Basically, the finding of “no fault or negligence” was not correct under the current rules, according to WADA.
WADA, in their statement, made it clear that it would not be seeking a disqualification of any further results but “is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years” in their call to have the case reviewed again.
It was earlier in March this year that the world no 1 tested positive twice for the anabolic steroid clostebol and the the International Tennis Integrity Unit had accepted his team’s explanation for how the banned substance entered his system.
Sinner has since then replaced the two involved trainers and instead added fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio.
The ITIA issued its own statement as a response:
“The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledges the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decision to appeal the ruling of No Fault or Negligence in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, issued by an independent tribunal appointed by Sport Resolutions on 19 August 2024. Under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA has the final right to appeal all such decisions,”
This will clearly be an ongoing story for a while and we just have to wait and see what fate awaits the number one player in the world.
