By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Photo credit: Corleve/Mark Peterson
NEW YORK—Roger Federer believes Jannik Sinner’s explanation of how a banned steroid entered his system.
The Swiss superstar said questions of consistency in anti-doping protocol has sparked controversy in Sinner’s case.
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Talking to Today Show host and avid tennis fan Savannah Guthrie, Federer said he understands the frustration some players have expressed over how Sinner’s case was handled.
“I understand the frustration of, ‘Has he been treated the same as others?'” Federer told Today Show. “And I think this is where it comes down to.”
World No. 1 Sinner provided a urine sample at Indian Wells on March 10, 2024, which contained the presence of a metabolite of clostebol “at low levels,” the ITIA announced. A further sample, conducted out of competition eight days later, also tested positive for the same metabolite.
The ITIA said after each positive test, a provisional suspension was applied to Sinner.
“On both occasions, Sinner successfully appealed the provisional suspension and so has been able to continue playing,” the ITIA said.
Sinner said he was contaminated by the banned substance, clostebol, through contact with his physiotherapist and has adamantly denied cheating.
Some players charged there is a double standard at work in that Sinner was permitted to continue playing for six months before the ITIA announced it’s finding of “No fault” in his case whereas Simona Halep’s claim of inadvertent contamination was initially rejected and she was not permitted to play. Halep took her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won a shortened sentence on appeal.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Federer said while he trusts the anti-doping testing, the inconsistency of the process raises questions.
“I think we all trust pretty much that Jannik didn’t do anything, but the inconsistency potentially that he didn’t have to sit out while they weren’t 100 percent sure what was going on, I think that’s the question here that needs to be answered,” Federer said. “But look, it is what it is, and we need to trust the process as well of anyone involved here.”
Conceding he was “worried” he could be banned, Sinner said he was also confident he would be cleared because he believes the minute trace amounts of clostebol in his system reinforce his claim of…
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