After world number one Jannik Sinner was found not guilty of any crime despite failing two drug tests this year, athletes including Denis Shapovalov criticized what they perceived as unfair treatment in the sports industry.
Former top-10 player Denis Shapovalov was among those swift to allege that Sinner had preferential treatment when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that an independent tribunal had cleared Sinner to compete going forward, despite being positive in illegal substances twice.
Shapavalov said: “Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now… Different rules for different players.”
However, Sinner’s team declared that they would not respond to opinions on social media regarding this matter. The team admitted: “Jannik has been found innocent following a rigorous process and a detailed review by an independent panel… The reasons are explained in the independent panel’s publicly available decision. It is not for us to answer comments made on social media.”
At Indian Wells, Sinner tested positive for clostebol. A few days later, he had another test where little of the illegal drug was discovered in his blood. Despite this, the 23-year-old was able to argue against automatic provisional suspensions. He is permitted to compete at the Aug. 26-Sept. 8 U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.
Source: CNA