Seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander believes the ITIA may have hidden Jannik Sinner‘s doping case because he’s World No. 1.
Wilander recently commented on Sinner testing positive for clostebol twice at this year’s Indian Wells Open.
Sinner avoided a ban and was cleared after a five-month investigation, but he lost his ranking points and prize money from reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells.
Mixed Reactions from the Tennis World:
While Mark Petchey defended Sinner and how the case was handled, others disagreed. Nick Kyrgios thinks Sinner should face a two-year ban. Denis Shapovalov doesn’t hold anything against Sinner personally but feels the ITIA treats players differently based on their status, which is unfair to those whose cases were made public.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| it Jannik Sinner | 23 | 15,405 | 33 - 3 |
Wilander also doesn’t blame Sinner for what happened. He told Eurosport that he believes it was an accident and that Sinner wasn’t trying to cheat .
“We’re so glad to have Jannik Sinner still playing on tour. He’s a great guy. He’s really, really good for the game. The rivalry with him and Carlos Alcaraz is epic already. And I’m convinced, 100%, that this was a complete accident by Jannik and his team.”
However, Wilander criticized how anti-doping procedures are managed, saying they create unfair situations for other players who were suspended but later cleared.
“But if you can be that good at testing, surely you have to be that good when it comes to the process because not only would you destroy a player’s career, but you could destroy the country in terms of bringing up tennis players. And Italy is doing great. So that’s why we’re lucky that Jannik has been able to keep playing.”
Fans might think it’s all very confusing and unfair.
“The professionalism is not good in terms of the doping organizations. They have to get it right. And it’s unfair. And obviously, it’s nothing to do with Jannik, but it’s unfair to all the other players that have got caught and then have been cleared.”
Wilander also speculated whether Sinner’s position as World No. 1 influenced how his case was handled privately by ITIA.
“Does it have anything to do with him being number one in the world? Possibly. And if it’s possible that it does, that makes it even worse.”
What do you think about this whole situation?
