Sinner's doping scandal may result in ban, says Bracciali

Disgraced Italian player Daniele Bracciali believes that the current world number one Jannik Sinner will receive a ban in the doping scandal. The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

Sinner tested positive for a banned substance on two occasions in doping tests but narrowly managed to escape a ban. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), in a detailed statement, revealed that they accepted the player’s counsel’s response where they claimed that the availability of the banned substance in the player’s sample was because of receiving cream from one member of the coaching staff.

Sinner’s problem did not end there as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced recently that they had lodged an appeal against the verdict in the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS). Disgraced Italian player Bracciali, who was handed a life ban for match-fixing in 2018, was recently quoted in a report by Tennis 365 where he stated that in his opinion, there is no chance for Sinner to escape a ban.

“How will the Sinner case end? Unfortunately, knowing the environment of WADA and ITIA, I believe that a disqualification will almost certainly arrive,” he said. “It is not right to disqualify a tennis player if it is found that he has not taken drugs to improve performance and in the case of the Italian it really has not changed anything. Objective responsibility in this situation is a real scam. He is very strong and he has shown it. But there is no doubt that a similar decision would weigh on him, even if we do not know how he could eventually react. From a mental point of view, let’s not forget how heavy a sentence like that can be, because Sinner is also human, but perhaps many forget this.”