WADA appeals decision that cleared world No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner after he tested positive for a banned substance

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says it’s lodging an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after an independent tribunal found world No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner wasn’t at fault for twice testing positive for a banned substance in March 2024.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says it’s lodging an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after an independent tribunal found world No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner wasn’t at fault for twice testing positive for a banned substance in March 2024. Sinner, 23, has so far avoided suspension from competition since the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that he wasn’t at fault despite testing positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Two samples collected eight days apart at Indian Wells in March showed low levels of the drug. In a statement posted on social media in August, Sinner said the positive tests stemmed from “inadvertent contamination of Clostebol” through treatment from his physiotherapist. The 2024 Australian Open winner also said that his physio had been applying an over-the-counter spray to their own skin – not on Sinner – to treat a small wound. “His fitness trainer purchased a product, easily available over the counter in any Italian pharmacy, which he gave to Jannik’s physiotherapist to care for a cut on the physiotherapist’s finger,” Sinner’s statement said. “Jannik knew nothing of this, and his physiotherapist did not know that he was using a product containing Clostebol. … The physiotherapist treated Jannik without gloves and coupled with various skin lesions on Jannik’s body caused the inadvertent contamination.” An independent tribunal convened by the ITIA accepted this explanation after consulting with experts and allowed Sinner to successfully appeal the provisional suspension which applied after each positive test, the organization said in August.