"Three-month ban was appropriate": WADA 'pleased' with handling of Jannik Sinner doping case

The Vice-President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Yang Yang has hit back at claims of favouritism regarding the case of Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Both the anti-doping body as well as the players are facing severe criticism from former and current players ever since they reached an agreement which will see the reigning world number one in men’s tennis in the singles category staying out of action for three months after failing two dope tests in March last year.

Sinner tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in two doping tests in March last year but 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.

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"The game is rigged": Former Romanian player accuses WADA of 'cheating the sport' after agreement with Jannik Sinner

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 as WADA announced that they had reached an agreement with Sinner, which will result in the player remaining out of action for three months.

A number of currently active players, such as Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios and America’s Jessica Pegula, have criticised the deal. Former world number one Andy Roddick also questioned the timing of the deal. However, in an interview with Xinhua as quoted by Tennis 365, WADA's Vice-President Yang has hit back at claims of favouritism. He also stated that the organization is ‘pleased’ with the way the matter was dealt with.

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“A million miles away from doping”: WADA defends Jannik Sinner’s three-month suspension

“The whole anti-doping process is highly professional and technical, which is really difficult for many to understand,” he said. “One of its primary functions is to ensure that unique cases which do not fall squarely within the sanction framework can be adjudicated appropriately and fairly, provided that all parties and WADA agree. Under the current Code revision, it is already proposed that the minimum sanction in case of contamination is a reprimand, so [the sanction is] three months. It is well within what is recommended for adoption at the world conference. So WADA considered a three-month ban was appropriate in [the] Sinner case. We are pleased to have been able to deal with this matter in an open and transparent way.”

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