"He didn't do anything wrong" - Former WTA star backs Jannik Sinner's innocence amid doping scandal

There has been much controversy regarding the allegations of doping involving Jannik Sinner, but former WTA star Christina McHale believes the Italian is not to blame for the situation.

The International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) announced on Tuesday, August 20 that Sinner had tested positive for clostebol, a banned substance, twice in March this year. Sinner received the reports and was informed of a provisional suspension he would have to serve. However, the World No.1 provided evidence via his legal team that Sinner had been accidentally contaminated after contact with his physiotherapist. Subsequently, the provisional suspension was lifted and Sinner was allowed to continue playing.

In an appearance on The Tennis Channel Inside-In Podcast, the former WTA World No.24 expressed her belief that Sinner was innocent. However, McHale did state she understood where the reasoning behind the criticism.

"The whole situation is just unfortunate," began the 32-year old. "It's a tough question. It is. I understand why players are bringing up that question. Like, why was it kept secret and he was allowed to keep playing? And it's just normally I feel like when the tribunal decides, like they're not supposed to know who the person is that they are. They're analyzing the situation. So I would imagine that was the case here.
"So there shouldn't have been any preferential treatment. But yeah, it's just such an unfortunate situation all around that this is happening. It just creates, you know. And I get it because again, I'm taking the tribunal out of their words. He didn't do anything wrong. He's fine there."