© Mike Frey/Imagn
With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out of the picture and the clock ticking on Novak Djokovic, we are currently in the midst of a new era of tennis. At the forefront of that new era are two young superstars – Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz, a Spaniard, is a four-time grand slam champion who won Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024. Sinner, meanwhile, is the current world No. 1 who is a three-time grand slam champ, including the season-opening Australian Open.
But Sinner’s ascent to No. 1 has not come without controversy. The 23-year-old Italian tested positive for clostebol in his urine during the Indiana Wells tournament in March of 2024. Initially, the International Tennis Integrity Agency opted not to punish Sinner at all because the amount of banned substance to be less than a billionth of a gram.
Sinner and his camp blamed the positive test on an Italian over-the-counter spray to treat open wounds. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision. On Saturday, WADA announced it had agreed to a settlement for a three-month ban.
“WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage,” the agency said in a statement.
Sinner will not miss any Grand Slams, with the French Open not starting until late May. Tennis fans, players and media were not happy about that decision.
I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore …
— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) February 15, 2025
So wada come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban. Obviously sinners team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3 month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) February 15, 2025
PTPA statement regarding the Jannik Sinner case. pic.twitter.com/WVSbtljUxt
— Professional Tennis Players Association (@ptpaplayers) February 15, 2025
“Regardless of whom you support, there are several clear things. The ‘system’ is not a system. It is a club. The supposed case-by-case discretion is, in fact, a mere cover-up for unfair dealings and inconsistent resolutions,” the Professional Tennis Players Association, which was founded by Djokovic, said in a statement.
The ruling set the tennis world on edge, all of which seemed to agree that Sinner received preferential treatment. And it’s hard to argue with their thought process.