The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is appealing against a decision not to sanction world number 1 men's Jannick Sinner after twice testing positive for the banned substance clostebol.
According to WADA, the decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to clear the Italian's name in August was "incorrect under the existing rules". Thus, the International Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA is demanding that Sinner's rights be suspended for a period of "between one and two years". The Italian is currently playing at the tournament in Beijing. In the round of 16, his opponent is the Russian Roman Safiulin.
Earlier in the year, it emerged that Sinner had tested positive twice for low levels of clostebol, a steroid used to increase muscle mass. He tested positive at the Indian Wells Masters in March. The suspension was subsequently appealed by his staff, and in the end everything ended positively, as Sinner continued to play. The Italian's defense said he was inadvertently infected with the substance by his now former physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi. ITIA accepted that Naldi used a spray to treat a wound on Sinner's hand, from where the clostebol entered the tennis player's body.
An independent tribunal found Sinner not at fault, but stripped him of the ranking points and prize money he earned for reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells. The incident also led to Naldi leaving Sinner's camp.
The world No. 1 triumphed earlier this month at the US Open, where he beat Taylor Fritz in the final in three sets, 19 days after his name was cleared. | BGNES
