Shapovalov clears up controversy surrounding Sinner and doping comments

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov has clarified his statement about Italy’s Jannik Sinner. The 23-year-old was in the news for the wrong reasons in 2024 when he tested positive for a banned substance, clostebol, in two doping tests.

Interestingly, Sinner managed to escape a ban after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the player’s counsel response, which stated that the availability of the substance in the player’s sample was because of receiving a cream to treat an injury. The case once again gathered attention after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed against the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) and demanded a two-year suspension for the player.

The ITIA’s decision received criticism from certain quarters of the tennis community who demanded a more uniform treatment of every player involved in such cases. Shapovalov was one of them as he criticised the ITIA’s decision. “Some players have contaminated substances and are sanctioned for years, while others do not face the same consequences. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should have intervened immediately,” he said back then.

The Tel Aviv-born star has now been quoted in a report where he clarified his comments and stated that his words were not directed towards Sinner. “That was the thing with me and Italian fans now, there were so many Italian fans after me,” said Shapovalov. “I made a comment about the Sinner case but I didn’t comment about Sinner. To me it had nothing to do with Sinner. It was the principle that a guy like Jarry was banned for three years or whatever it was and other guys are playing. Where is the fine lining? It should be consistent and the same for all the players. It had literally nothing to do with Sinner. I expressed how I am not WADA. I’m not here to decide whether he should be banned or not but so many Italian fans started losing it. It was insane.”