"Conviction is dubious": Doping specialist lambasts WADA's conduct in Jannik Sinner's case

Doping specialist Dr Mondenard has criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s conduct in the case regarding Italy’s Jannik Sinner. The 23-year-old, who is widely regarded as the best player currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, has been in the news for the wrong reasons after he tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in two doping tests in March last year.

Sinner, miraculously managed to escape any ban as The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) declared him innocent following a detailed hearing where his counsel claimed that the substance was available in the player’s sample because one member of the coaching staff had received a cream for the treatment of an injury.

WADA appealed against the ITIA’s verdict in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and demanded a two-year ban for the three-time Grand Slam winner. However, the issue finally came to a conclusion on Saturday last week as WADA announced that they had reached an agreement with Sinner, which will result in the player remaining out of action for three months.

Famous doping specialist Dr Mondenard, in a series of posts on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — criticised the role of WADA in the whole process. He also highlighted a similar case of an Italian football player who also tested positive in doping tests for the banned substance clostebol and was subsequently banned for four years.

“The WADA lawyer who knows nothing about clostebol - an anabolic steroid - claims "this case is a million miles away from doping". What is his basis for denying doping? We will never know because WADA refuses to communicate the scientific elements that led to his conviction,” he wrote. “Sinner's analyses, even at low concentrations, are not proof of non-doping, especially with a skin penetration method (cream). Was hair analysis carried out on Sinner and the masseur? Not sure. Ultimately, WADA's conviction is dubious. The case of Stefano Battaglino, an Italian player who tested positive in September 2022 for the same product as Sinner, having invoked the same mode of contamination by Trofodermin cream through a massage by a physiotherapist during a tournament in Morocco, was suspended for 4 years by the CAS.”