Nick Kyrgios has launched a scathing attack on Jannik Sinner after the Italian was banned for three months. Sinner has reached an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to serve a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance last year.
WADA had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after an independent panel concluded that Sinner bore no responsibility for twice testing positive for Clostebol, a type of steroid. The 23-year-old has always argued that he was inadvertently contaminated by his physio, a case WADA accepted.
Tennis rival Kyrgios has been vocal in his criticism of Sinner ever since news emerged that the world No. 1 had tested positive. He has now provided a brutal response to the three-month suspension.
Kyrgios wrote on Instagram: “To the future generation [of] tennis players – after today you can just ‘without knowing’.
“Test positive, play through all the investigation then settle on a convenient three-month ban, not get stripped of any money or titles and carry on.
“Sad day for me – someone who has played this sport since I was seven years old. Battled injury after injury and have given a s*** load to this sport. I pray that kids that play this sport do it the right way.”
Sinner’s defence has always centred around the fact that his now-former physio Giacomo Naldi had treated his own cut with the banned substance. He then gave Sinner a message and inadvertently contaminated the tennis player, an argument that WADA accepted.
But the agency have argued that the sporting precedent has been that athletes bear some responsibility for the negligence of their team. Sinner has accepted this argument and has agreed to serve a three-month suspension, effective immediately.
WADA said: “WADA accepts the athlete’s explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision.
“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.
“However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.”
Sinner had been due to compete in the Qatar Open next week but he is now set to return from Doha. His next action is like to come at the Italian Open in May.
