Jannik Sinner claims his third Masters 1000 title of the season to continue his sensational season. But could the world number one’s doping allegations be about to spoil the best year of his career?
Sinner claimed his third Masters 1000 title of 2024 yesterday when he defeated Novak Djokovic (who is still title-less on the ATP tour this year) in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3.
Sinner has now won the pair's last three meetings and hasn’t faced a breakpoint against Djokovic since they met in the Davis Cup in November last year.
The victory for Sinner seems to add to the 2024 narrative that the new era has well and truly begun. With two slams each and four of the eight Masters events that have occurred this year, Sinner and Alcaraz stand out as the greatest players in the world of tennis.
So why is this victory not being celebrated as much as it perhaps feels it should be?
It’s been a strange year for Jannik Sinner. On paper, the Italian superstar has won two Grand Slams and seven ATP titles, including three Masters, and should end the season as year-end number one. Quite the incredible season.
But the doping allegations that have arisen surrounding Sinner in the last few months have put a serious dampener on what has otherwise been one of the great ATP seasons.
While the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found Sinner innocent of any wrongdoing, concluding that the clostebol in his system found its way there through accidental means, an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is seeking to have Sinner banned from tennis for a prolonged period.
How long could Sinner be banned for?
If found guilty, Sinner could face a ban of between one and two years from the day of ruling by the CAS.
This is the first time that a ruling by the ITIA has been challenged by WADA, who feel like Sinner is getting preferential treatment and that he should share some of the blame for the traces of clostebol found in his system.
A date has not yet been set for the hearing, but a number of players are frustrated with the ongoing controversy, with Novak Djokovic stating,
"Whatever's going to happen, I just wish for it to be resolved as soon as possible." and "This whole case is not helping our sport at all."
Whatever the result of the court case, this is not a good look for Sinner and will likely tarnish his otherwise incredible year.
Could Sinner lose his major titles?
A serious concern for a number of Sinner fans is the possibility that his two grand slam titles could be disqualified from his record if he is found guilty of purposely using clostebol.
But they needn’t worry too much, as WADA is not looking as having any of Sinner’s titles stripped. But a ban would still occur and would seriously damage Sinner’s career and reputation.
What is clostebol?
The clostebol found in Jannik Sinner’s system is an anabolic steroid aimed at increasing muscle growth and recovery speed.
Clostebol is also found in a number of recovery creams, including, most importantly in this case, Trofodermin. Trofodermin is a cream used to treat damage to the skin and is readily available in most pharmacies in Italy.
Sinner and his team claim that the clostebol got in his system when Trofodermin was applied to a cut he sustained on his hand.
What next for Sinner?
There has been a mixed reaction from the tennis world, with Casper Ruud voicing support for Sinner, while former player Nick Kyrgios is the leading critic of the Italian.
Whatever the result of Sinner’s case, the trial will be a serious distraction for the world number one when it likely begins in 2025.
It is a shame that such an extraordinary year for Sinner will forever have an asterisk next to it. We will have to wait and see what the results of the findings are. But for tennis’ sake, I think we need to all hope that Sinner is innocent.
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