Former ATP player Mark Petchey, who now works as a tennis pundit, defended Jannik Sinner against those who wanted to discredit him as a top player.
After the news broke out of Sinner testing positive for a banned substance, many different narratives popped up. Some wondered about whether the situation was handled properly, given the swift resolution and no ban for the Italian player.
There were narratives about his results possibly being influenced by the substance found in his body. However, it was proven false quickly. The amount found in his system wouldn’t be enough to impact anything, let alone performance, so that was a wrong narrative.
Even so, the conversation still persists. There is not much that can be done about it because fans love voicing their opinions. When it comes to Sinner and his case, according to Mark Petchey, there is nothing to be doubted.
The former player reacted to the most recent development in the saga on X in defense of Sinner. It was announced on September 29th that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), appealing the initial verdict made by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), seeking some punishment for the World No. 1 player.
The Italian was initially cleared of any wrongdoing; however, according to WADA, that shouldn’t be the case. It will be up to CAS to decide, but Sinner wasn’t very happy with the news.
Nick Kyrgios jumped at the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, writing on X that Sinner might not be as innocent after all. That prompted former player Mark Petchey to step in, stating that in his mind, there was no scandal.
“Just for the record there is ZERO scandal in the Sinner case. He and his lawyers worked within the framework of what the rules are in the situation he found himself and got a decision based on the evidence presented. No conspiracy, no cover-up.”
Petchey didn’t even find it notable that WADA appealed the case because, to him, that’s just how the law works. There is a trial, one party wins, and the other contests, as it’s ultimately all about winning the case.
It’s personal interest, which is certainly true, but to Sinner’s disappointment, as he would have hoped that the organization would accept the ITIA’s verdict.
“WADA today have looked at it and decided that they want to appeal the decision based on the ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules. This is how the law works every single day.”
Petchey was then challenged on his stance by a user who reacted to his comments by pointing out that Sinner had special treatment, which the former player completely dismissed.
“No he did not. False narrative and it’s exhausting to watch people being allowed to peddle this slander.”
