It was recently revealed that Jannik Sinner failed two doping tests during the Indian Wells tournament in March of this year. While the news has spread like wildfire, a previous post of Sinner has now gone viral with more allegations that the Italian was protected by the tennis establishment.
The post is from April 6 when the current World No.1 had given an insight into his preparation for the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Feels good to be back @ROLEXMCMASTERS pic.twitter.com/MMXBIpgKeK
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) April 6, 2024
Many are now finding the irony in the caption of the video as it was posted a day after Sinner’s 2-day ‘provisional suspension’ which was on April 4 and 5.
The fact that fans weren’t even aware of the suspension when the Italian misled them with his ‘good to be back’ caption, only added to their fury. It has left them feeling that the Italian made a ‘fool’ of them.
suspended for 2 days: 4th and 5th of April 2024…
6th of April – “Feels good to be back”
LOL https://t.co/gQjOJpfT29— . A͟O͟¹⁰ (@NoleLondon) August 20, 2024
One day for each test failed. Only fair.
— Rade (@Rasciani) August 21, 2024
A very extended April Fools joke.
— Srinivas Murty (@jurasick) August 21, 2024
Sinner failing the doping test wasn’t common knowledge until August 20 and the fact that the Italian star escaped a provisional ban isn’t being taken well by the fans and players. It was also made public that the reigning Australian Open champion received a temporary suspension not only on those two days but also from April 17-20.
Sinner’s doping violation case
The entire tennis world has been stirred by this latest discovery and has immediately divided into two discourses. One segment believes that the arguments given by the Italian are justified and contamination caused the presence of drugs in his body.
The other segment, however, feels that even if the violation happened unintentionally, the world number 1 should have received a temporary suspension, as happened with other players.
They feel that the decision to let him off the hook so easily is unfair to other athletes who faced bans spanning either months or years for failing doping tests, with many cases still not getting resolved in court.
Sinner failed two drug tests, on March 10 and 18 respectively, when the presence of the banned substance ‘Clostebol’ was found in his body. Both tests were followed by a provisional suspension, which the Italian challenged.
Hearing his case, the independent tribunal decided to sustain his appeal and in the meanwhile, allowed him to continue playing. The Italian star was declared innocent of any wrongdoings by the tribunal and the same was conveyed on Tuesday.
However, tennis fans and players are more upset with the way the case has been dealt with. The amount of secrecy practiced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency in this case has raised eyebrows. Credibility is what matters in the end and that’s something the sport and the authorities must look to restore within the community soon.
