Trending: Jannik Sinner Innocent, Italian Legend Rushes to Defend World No. 1 Amid Controversy
Former Roland Garros champion Adriano Panatta rushed to Jannik Sinner’s defense after the news of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealing his doping case broke.
Sinner was enjoying life in recent weeks after winning the US Open and solidifying himself as the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour. Very few talked about his doping case, which became public knowledge leading up to the US Open.
It was a big story, but it quickly got replaced by what Sinner was doing on the tennis courts. The US Open went relatively smoothly for Sinner, and it was a hugely emotional experience for him because he wasn’t in the best frame of mind.
There was a lot of pressure, the media was hounding him, and some fans initially also weren’t on his side, but he proved himself on the courts once more and felt very relieved by how it turned out.
The relaxation was relatively short-lived lived-though as a few weeks later, the story is back front and centre everywhere. The news of WADA appealing his case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) broke, and everything collapsed like a house of cards.
Now. there is a chance that he might get banned from the sport. The Italian was deeply frustrated by the news and expressed great disappointment.
He released a statement in which he discussed that but also expressed through his lawyers that WADA has the right to appeal, as frustrating as that is for him. Now, it was up to CAS to decide about his innocence.
Despite the case technically still being open, former Italian legend Adriano Panatta rushed to Sinner’s defense, proclaiming his innocence. The Italian simply pointed to the way of contamination as proof.
“Sinner is innocent. The substance detected is infinitesimal, we know that Clostebol is transmitted extremely easily, a handshake is enough. It was a case of an error, or of imprudence on the part of the physiotherapist.”
Panatta on Sinner’s innocence
The court’s ruling will take some time, likely coming at the start of the 2025 season, according to the latest reports from Italy. As for the appeal, according to Panatta, it’s not very democratic.
“The appeals system is not democratic. I believe in Sinner’s innocence, but I also believe in the right to an adequate defence, even for those with fewer resources.”
Panatta on the WADA appeal
“The problem is that the best players have incomes that allow them to pay the best lawyers, while there are tennis players on the circuit who have difficulty buying a plane ticket.”
If the initial ruling is confirmed, Sinner will simply move on as if nothing happened. However, if WADA wins its appeal, then the course of the Italian’s tennis career might completely change.
Sinner will hope that’s not the case, and he’ll have plenty of tennis to distract him from that. However, he has already admitted to sleepless nights after learning of the appeal, so it’s clear the case affected him.
Ref: Tennis-infinity
