Rennae Stubbs called out WADA as she thinks if CAS bans Jannik Sinner, it will be a terrible look for tennis.
Jannik Sinner, Rennae Stubbs (Images via X)
Rennae Stubbs questioned the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for their interference in Jannik Sinner‘s doping case. As WADA wants a ban on Sinner and has approached the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for it, Stubbs can’t fathom the reason why WADA got involved.
Banned anabolic steroid clostebol was found in Sinner’s body twice in March last year. Due to this, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) provisionally suspended him but made the report public just a few days before the US Open, inviting widespread criticism.
Clostebol entered his body because of his former physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, as he used a spray that contained the banned drug, to heal a wound on his finger. The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation but WADA, even though it accepted that Sinner didn’t intentionally dope, has accused Sinner of negligence.
This WADA situation is such a joke, I mean it’s such a joke. How can the ITIA say no fault for you, and then WADA decides months later? You know what, that’s not quite satisfactory for us, we want him to pay for his team doing something stupid, but we are going to wait until April, are you kidding me? He has played two Grand Slams and won them.
Rennae Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast
Since the ITIA made Sinner’s case public, he has played two Grand Slam tournaments (US Open and Australian Open) and won them. CAS will give its verdict in April and Stubbs is convinced that the result of the judgment wouldn’t be ending in Sinner’s favor.
Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Australian Open with a straight-set win over Alexander Zverev. But the tournament could be his last Grand Slam this season.
CAS will hear WADA’s appeal on April 16, a month before the French Open, the season’s second Major. If Sinner gets a ban of between one and two years, he will not only miss the two events but next year’s Grand Slam tournaments as well.
Sinner, although he has established himself as one of the best hard-court players, has never won the French Open and Wimbledon. He has never progressed to the finals of both tournaments.
After his Australian Open win, the 23-year-old is in want of rest and decided to skip the Rotterdam Open. He lifted the title last year and in his absence, Carlos Alcaraz, who will be making his debut, will be the top seed.
