By Joiner Martinez
Aug 20, 2024, 5:25 PM EDT
Italian Jannik Sinner, current number one in the ATP tennis rankings, was acquitted on Tuesday by an independent court after testing positive for clostebol in March 2024.
The issue sparked controversy and some criticism from colleagues such as Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov, Lucas Pouille and Liam Broady, who spoke out on social media after the ruling.
The Australian, who has not been active on the circuit since June 2023 and works as a television commentator, launched some darts after the news broke that the 23-year-old Italian, who is fresh from winning the Cincinnati Masters 1000, had been acquitted. “It’s ridiculous, whether accidental or planned. They test you twice with a banned substance (steroids)… You should be out for two years. Your performance has improved. Massage cream… Yes, it’s fine…”, Kyrgios expressed on his official X account, responding to a post by journalist Stuart Fraser (Time Sports) that broke the news about Sinner.
Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice 🙄 https://t.co/13qR0F9nH2
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 20, 2024
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Sinner was unintentionally contaminated, according to investigations. During the Indian Wells Masters 1000, the Italian tennis player tested positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid derived from testosterone banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
However, the agency stated in a statement that Sinner had a low level of the steroid and was tested again ten days later.
For his part, Canadian Denis Shapovalov expressed his disappointment with the ITIA’s decision. “I can’t imagine what all the other players who were banned for contaminated substances are feeling right now. Different rules for different players,” he said on the social network. The American’s opinion did not go unnoticed and his French colleague Lucas Pouille responded: “What about the players who were banned for only three absences and never tested positive?” “Maybe they should stop taking us for idiots, right?” he insisted.
Different rules for different players
— Denis Shapovalov (@denis_shapo) August 20, 2024
Another player who spoke out publicly about Sinner’s acquittal was British player Liam Broady, who expressed his opinion on social media. “Whether Sinner was doping or not, this is not right. Many players go through the same thing and have to wait months or years for their innocence to be declared. It doesn’t look good,” he said.
For his part, Sinner issued a press release in which he gave an explanation on the matter. “I will now leave this difficult and regrettable episode in the past. I will continue to respect the ITIA anti-doping programme, I have around me a team that is meticulous in respecting the rules,” wrote the tennis player.
In the case of Sinner, the Italian’s team member performed massages on the player, which led to the contamination. After analysing these details, the ITIA accepted the player’s explanation about the origin of the clostebol and recognised that the presence of the substance was not intentional. The court also agreed with this verification.
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