The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking a one to two-year ban for Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner, following his involvement in a doping controversy earlier this year in the US Open.
The appeal comes after an independent tribunal cleared Sinner of fault or negligence for testing positive twice for the banned substance Clostebol in March 2024.
WADA announced its appeal on Saturday, stating, "The World Anti-Doping Agency confirms that it has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday 26 September in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who was found by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to be free of fault or negligence for testing positive twice for Clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024.”
The statement continues, “WADA believes that the finding of no 'fault or negligence' is incorrect under the applicable rules and is therefore seeking a period of ineligibility of between 1 and 2 years.”
“WADA is not seeking a disqualification for any result other than that already imposed by the first instance tribunal. As the matter is now pending before CAS, WADA will not comment further at this time,” the statement ended.
The agency also clarified that it is not seeking the disqualification of any results beyond those already imposed by the initial tribunal.
Sinner, who is currently competing in the China Open in Beijing, responded to the news, "We can't control everything.”
“Of course, I'm very disappointed and also surprised about this appeal, to be honest, because we had three hearings. All three hearings were very positive for me. I didn't expect that. I knew for a couple of days that they were going to appeal and that today it would become official. Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right place,” said Sinner.
Sinner’s doping controversy began in March 2024 when he tested positive twice for the anabolic agent Clostebol.
Despite this, the tribunal accepted his defence of unintentional contamination, allowing him to continue playing. Sinner went on to win the 2024 US Open, but the appeal now puts his future in jeopardy.
Sinner will next face Jiri Lehecka in the third round of the China Open as he tries to focus on his tennis while dealing with the ongoing legal battle.
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