WADA: Sinner’s case “a million miles” from doping

Jannik Sinner's case was a million miles away from doping, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) General Counsel Ross Wenzel told BBC Sport.

The men's tennis world number one was handed an immediate three-month ban by WADA on Saturday after reaching a deal over his two positive doping tests last year, CE Report quotes ANSA.

Wenzel denied allegations of special treatment and told the BBC that the terms of the ban, which some have claimed will have little impact on Sinner, were appropriate for the case and not taken with the tennis calendar in mind.

Sinner's suspension kicked off on February 9 and runs until May 4, on time for him to take part in the French Open on May 25, the next Grand Slam tournament.

Sinner, 23, was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel after testing positive for banned substance clostebol in March 2024.

WADA had asked for a ban of up to two years after filing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) following a decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend Sinner.

However, a deal was reached after WADA acknowledged that the Italian player "did not intend to cheat".

Sinner has said that he was inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist, who was treating a cut on his hand with an over-the-counter spray later found to contain the banned substance.

However, some in the tennis world have questioned the length of the ban and the deal.

In particular, 24-time Slam winner Novak Djokovic blasted the fairness of the process, claiming high-profile players are favoured.

But Wenzel told BBC Sport that "this was a case that was a million miles away from doping" and "the scientific feedback that we received was that this could not be a case of intentional doping, including micro-dosing".

"When we look at these cases we try to look at them technically, operationally and we don't do it with fear of what the public and the politicians or anyone is going to say", the official also told BBC Sport.

Wenzel also said sanctions are blind to the calendar.

"The sanctions that we impose and the code even says this, they're blind to the calendar.

"The correct sanction should be imposed and it comes into effect when it comes into effect and it shouldn't be modulated or modified to take into account whether the events that are coming up are significant or not significant", he was also quoted as saying.

Wenzel said WADA introduced the possibility of a case resolution agreement in 2021, which allowed deals with athletes.

Since adding that measure to WADA's rules, Wenzel said approximately 67 resolution agreements have come into force.