No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player Jannik Sinner will be playing in the U.S. Open, which begins next week in New York, even though word just emerged that he tested positive twice in March for a banned anabolic steroid.
It’s a case that no one knew about until Tuesday and one that has drawn all sorts of questions—and, in some instances, criticism. Other players wonder whether there was a double standard at play because of Sinner’s success, are confused about why this was all kept under wraps, and want to know why Sinner was allowed to keep competing before there was a resolution.
“I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me,” Sinner said in a statement posted on social media. “I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the [sport’s] anti-doping [program], and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”
Not everyone is completely ready to just move forward. And it will be interesting to see how much scrutiny Sinner receives—from other athletes, from spectators, from the media—during the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, where he will be the top-seeded man.
“Different rules for different players,” 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Denis Shapovalov wrote on social media.
Here is a look at some of the issues connected to what happened with Sinner:
Sinner is a 23-year-old Italian who moved up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the first time in June and is considered one of the leaders of the next group of male tennis stars who will succeed the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Sinner’s first Grand Slam trophy came in January at the Australian Open, where he eliminated Djokovic in the semifinals before erasing a two-set deficit in the final to beat Daniil Medvedev.
He is 48–5 with a tour-leading five titles, his most recent championship coming at the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
Clostebol is an anabolic steroid that can be found in ointments and sprays sold over the counter in some countries, such as Italy. It is used to treat cuts or scrapes.
It is considered a performance enhancer, and several athletes in various sports have been suspended after testing positive. One high-profile example was San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., who received an 80-game ban from Major League Baseball in 2022.
Sinner submitted a urine sample that showed traces of Clostebol during the Indian Wells tournament in California in March. An out-of-competition sample eight days later also tested positive.
Sinner was provisionally suspended for the two positive results, but he appealed those bans, saying that he inadvertently was exposed to the steroid. He argued that one member of his team purchased a spray that contained Clostebol in Italy, then gave it to another team member—a physiotherapist—who cut a finger. Sinner said the physiotherapist then gave him a massage, which transmitted the substance to Sinner.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which handles anti-doping and anti-corruption investigations for the sport, accepted his explanation, as did an independent tribunal, which said Sinner was not negligent and not at fault.
Because one of the positive tests came during a tournament, Sinner had to forfeit $325,000 in prize money and 400 ranking points he earned by getting to the semifinals at Indian Wells.
Plenty of players hopped on social media to offer their takes on the latest high-profile doping case in tennis, a list that includes suspensions reduced on appeal for Grand Slam champions Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep.
Nick Kyrgios, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2022, called the situation “ridiculous,” and said he thought a ban was warranted.
Tennys Sandgren, a two-time quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, said Sinner’s explanation for how the steroid got into his system “does seem pretty plausible,” but added that “how this was handled really doesn’t seem fair compared to other players whatsoever.”
There also were those who noted that Jenson Brooksby and Mikael Ymer both were suspended for missing tests.
“I do think that they protect top players,“ said Chris Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam women’s champion who is now an ESPN analyst. ”By ‘protecting’—they’re going to keep the secret for a couple months. They’re going to keep certain things secret if you’re a top player, because they don’t want the press. The player doesn’t want the press. It’s all going to come out in three months, anyway.
“I do think there’s some protection there, [more] than if you were Joe Smith, ranked 400 in the world.”
