Sinner won his first US Open on Sunday but could theoretically lose the title – if he were to be found guilty of doping.
– It was very difficult for me to enjoy certain moments, Sinner said after the win in the US Open and the attention that the acquittal of doping gave rise to.
He tested positive twice in March for the anabolic steroid clostebol but was cleared just before the US Open by the International Tennis Federation’s integrity unit ITIA, which bought the explanation that the small amounts had entered the body via a physio who massaged Sinner with hands that came into contact with the subject, when physio himself treated a wound in the finger.
– You can understand why people are upset about it. In anti-doping it sounds so ridiculous. But the science is such that, if the facts are actually proven, it’s actually plausible, said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, who was not involved in the case.
Wada’s deadline is October 1
Neither Italy’s anti-doping committee, Nado, nor Wada are in the habit of announcing that they are appealing rulings. Nado’s deadline for the appeal expired on Tuesday, and given the administration and processing that takes a couple of days, it is unclear whether any such has made it to the CAS arbitration court in Lausanne.
Wada then has another 21 days to file an appeal, which means October 1
The entire process was kept secret during the five-month investigation. If Sinner were to be convicted, the maximum sentence would probably be two years instead of four, because in that case the doping was unintentional.
SVT Sport has asked Wada questions that have not been answered.