WADA appeals Jannik Sinner case and requests suspension of one to two years

The doping affair in which Jannik Sinner has been involved for several months has just experienced a major twist. While the Italian was in the middle of the second round at the ATP 500 in Beijing against the Russian Roman Safiullin, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced on Saturday morning in a press release that it had “filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday (TAS) in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who was found without fault or negligence by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive twice for clostebol, a banned substance, in March.”

“The conclusion of “absence of fault or negligence” is not correct under the applicable rules”, specifies the AMA, which “requests a suspension period of one to two years” for the world number 1, recent winner of the US Open.

WADA does not request cancellation of its positive post-test results

Furthermore, the instance “does not seek the disqualification of any result, except that which has already been imposed by the trial court.” Testing positive during the Indian Wells tournament, the Italian had lost the points (400) from his semi-final in California and the prize money ($325,000). WADA is therefore not asking that its results since its positive tests – notably titles in Miami, Cincinnati and the US Open – be annulled. “As this matter is now pending before the CAS, WADA will not make any further comment at this time,” concludes WADA in its press release.

Jannik Sinner, also winner of the Australian Open at the start of the season, tested positive twice eight days apart: on March 10 during the Indian Wells tournament and on March 18 out of competition, just before the Miami tournament. Trace amounts of clostebol (anabolic agent) were found in his urine.

Three experts recognized by the AMA had validated the contamination thesis

Then the 23-year-old Italian, provisionally suspended for a few days following these two positive tests, appealed, accepted in both cases. He had pleaded contamination by his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, the latter having massaged him while he was treating a cut with a spray which contained the doping product provided by his physical trainer Umberto Ferrara – both were ousted from the Sinner staff before the US Open.

And an independent tribunal, Sport Resolutions, had exonerated Sinner, not “no fault or negligence” on his part. Sport Resolutions relied in particular on three experts recognized by WADA: Jean-François Naud, director of the Montreal laboratory, Xavier de la Torre, head of the Rome laboratory and David Cowan, former director of the London laboratory.

In its press release dated August 19, the ITIA indicated that WADA and the Italian Anti-Doping Agency (NADO Italia) could appeal this decision. On September 10, WADA confirmed to us that “the exam” was ” in progress “ and that he was “still time (to appeal) before the deadline. What the body did on Thursday.

source site

Related Articles