The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has confirmed that tennis star Jannik Sinner’s doping case will not be resolved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) before the end of the year.
“There will be nothing by the end of the year,” WADA director general Olivier Niggli told AFP.
In March, the Italian world number one tested positive twice for traces of the banned substance clostebol, but was acquitted and allowed to continue playing.
An independent tribunal in late August, at the request of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), found that the Australian Open and US Open champions had “no fault or negligence.”
The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation that the drug entered his body when a physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut and then provided the player with massage and sports therapy.
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WADA has appealed against the decision to clear the 23-year-old and is demanding a suspension of up to two years.
“The decision found Sinner not guilty. Our position is that the athlete still has responsibility for his or her surroundings,” Niggli said.
“So it is this legal issue that will be debated (before CAS).
“We do not dispute the fact that it could have been contamination. However, we believe that the application of the principles is not consistent with case law.”
While ITIA was criticized for the late disclosure of Sinner’s positive tests and second-ranked women’s Iga Świątek, Niggli believes “athletes must be protected.”
Swiatek last month agreed to a one-month suspension after testing positive for the heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample taken in August 2024.
“I personally believe that protecting an athlete’s reputation should be our first concern,” Niggli said.
“We live in a world where social media being what it is, means that reputations can go up in smoke in a very, very short time.”
