As the US Open began on Monday, the most talked-about subject was not tennis, but something as grave as doping. In other words, the year’s last Grand Slam opened under a dark cloud. There have been earlier instances of positive dope tests in tennis, including that of Simona Halep. But they pale in comparison with the secrecy and opacity surrounding the Jannik Sinner case. The 23-year-old Italian is the current men’s world no 1.
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), he had failed two dope tests within eight days in March and April. Yet he continued to play amid appeals and hearings. In the end, all that he was docked were ranking points (400) he had accrued during Indian Wells and the prize money of $325,000 he earned at the tournament.
He was provisionally suspended for a day at first on April 4, and for three days on the second occasion on April 17. Both times, Sinner successfully appealed. He argued that the banned substance clostebol—an anabolic androgenic steroid used as a performance enhancer—entered his body unintentionally through his physio and masseurs, who were using an ointment containing the drug available over the counter in Italy. The tribunal said that the amount of the substance in the body (billionth of a gram) was minute.
This has divided the world of tennis. Some players said this smacked of preferential treatment. Denis Shapovalov, Lucas Pouille and Tara Moore, who faced ITIA sanctions, said that top players are subject to different norms. Record Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic said ahead of the US Open that protocols have to be clear and standardised. “Hopefully, the governing bodies of our sport will be able to learn from this case and have a better approach for the future.
Collectively, there has to be a change,” he said. Perhaps the ITIA overlooked the very tenet under which anti-doping rules are based. Anti-Doping Code 2.1.1 says, “It is the athletes’ personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance enters their bodies. Athletes are responsible for any prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers found in their samples.” Whether the amount is a billionth of a gram or more, an elite athlete should be more responsible than the others in taking precautions. In the end, tennis is the loser.