Since Tuesday, the entire tennis world has been buzzing about Jannik Sinner (1. ATP). During this year's edition of Indian Wells, the Italian received two positive results anti-doping test, and a prohibited substance, clostebol, was detected in his system. The tennis player successfully appealed the penalty and continued playing. The case came to light only after a few months and caused a lot of noise on social media. There are many opinions among fans or experts that it shows that in the ATP or WTA there are “equal and more equal”.
“The substance entered Sinner's system via contamination by a team member who applied an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to his own skin to treat a minor wound. This team member applied the spray between March 5 and March 13, during which time he also provided daily massages to Sinner, leading to the unknowing percutaneous contamination,” the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said in a statement. In this case, Sinner's only penalty was the withdrawal of prize money and points for Indian Wells, where he reached semi-final.
“Ridiculous – regardless of whether it was accidental or planned. Testing twice for a banned (steroid) substance… you should disappear for two years. Your results were better. Massage cream…. Nice” – wrote Australian Nick Kyrgios ironically on the X portal. In Poland, the example of Kamil Majchrzak (168th ATP) was immediately cited, who was suspended immediately after receiving a positive anti-doping test result and was cleared of the charges only after several months.
– By taking away his points, they basically admitted that Sinner was taking something forbidden. Doping is evil. I don't like it in any way: neither in small nor in large doses. If you did something forbidden and crossed a certain line, you have to be punished for it, regardless of whether it was accidental or not – says Yevgeny Kafelnikov, a two-time Grand Slam winner, quoted by Russian media.
They were caught doping. They share one last name. But is that really true?
Andre Agassi, Fernando Verdasco, Simona Halep, Jannik Sinner. What do these four names have in common? One internet user explains. “Darren Cahill is the current ATP coach of the year. He trained Agassi, Verdasco, Halep and Sinner. All of these players failed doping tests due to taking banned substances. Make of that what you will,” wrote user Pavvy G on the X portal.
“It's really interesting that the only thing that connects Sinner and Halep is coach Darren Cahill. It could be a coincidence, but who knows,” noted Adam Romer, editor-in-chief of “Tenisklub” magazine. Was the aforementioned user right to put the four tennis players in one line?
In Halep’s case, it’s worth explaining that when the doping case came up, her coach wasn’t Cahill, but Patrick Mouratoglou. After 568 days, Halep returned to the courts after roxadustat was detected in her system. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced her ban from four years to nine months. The reason? The supplement she took was contaminated.
In Agassi's case, the case occurred in 1997, when methamphetamine was detected in his system. At that time, the Italian informed the ATP authorities in a letter that he had taken the drugs unknowingly, and they believed him. Years later, among others, the Russian Marat Safin openly believed that Agassi should relinquish his titles and return the money he earned on the courts. Agassi admitted to lying only in his autobiography.
In the context of Verdasco, it is about the detection of methylphenidate in February 2022. The Spaniard took this drug to treat ADHD. However, the tennis player forgot to renew the document that allowed him to use the drug for “therapeutic purposes”. Verdasco voluntarily agreed to bear the two-month penalty disqualification.
But back to Cahill. How did he comment on Sinner's positive doping test results? – Jannik would never do anything on purpose. He found himself in an unfortunate situation. The truth came out, he is innocent and hopefully he will be able to put this behind him – said Sinner's coach in an interview with ESPN. It turns out that the entire tennis player's team found out about the incident only after the tournament in Miami, and the reason for Sinner's acquittal was that Jannik was able to explain where the incident took place and also provided details about the case.