Sinner Banned: Why Fairness Is Questioned and the Tennis World Is Split, According to Il Tennis Italiano.

26 February 2025

Some say there will always be a shadow over Jannick Sinner; some say he’s paying a political price. Sinner, who successfully defended his Australian Open title in January, had been cleared by an independent tribunal, only for WADA to appeal the decision to the court of arbitration for sport. Subsequently, a deal was reached that would see Sinner banned for three months – with WADA accepting that the Italian had not deliberately cheated.

Natalie Sawyer sat down with the editor of the world’s longest running tennis magazine, Il Tennis Italiano, Stefano Semeraro, to dive into the detail of the story, which is the big talking point in Italy and internationally.

It all started when Sinner tested positive for a banned substance, clostebol, an anabolic steroid, a year ago. The International Tennis Integrity Agency handed the case to an independent tribunal, who accepted that trace amounts of the substance, which can be found in over-the-counter-drugs in Italy, was present due to the use of a wound-healing spray, applied by Sinner’s physiotherapist. All this occurred behind closed doors, and the tale only came to light when the decision was made public. Sinner was still competing – and carried on playing as WADA appealed the independent tribunal’s decision. The ban, which was announced last week, stresses the responsibility of players and their team to monitor the ingredients of over-the-counter products.

The process, as it all occurred without any public scrutiny, has been heavily criticised, not least because in the past less celebrated players, without access to top lawyers, have been given far more severe bans for contaminated substances. Sinner will be back in time to play in the Italian and French Opens.

Stefano spoke with WADA who told him that under a particular code and in specific circumstances some substances can be used therapeutically for a certain period, and incur, as with Sinner, a very limited ban. The problem is that this hasn’t been transparently obvious to athletes.

“We have to change something,” Stefano stressed. “We have to simplify the procedure. So many organizations and people don't understand why so many; why some different organization from different places can judge the same case. And also we know that in the past we had the other similar but not totally identical cases in the past with Simona Halep and other tennis players that they have been judged in a different way. We have to solve this.”

Now, of course, Sinner has been exonerated from any personal wrongdoing. He’s started his three-month ban with some time out of the game, if not out of the public eye.

“Jannick is skiing, you know, his hometown in the north of Italy, doing a lot of selfies and videos to his fans,” Stefano told us.

Sinner is loved in his home country, and retains his immense popularity, but the international tennis community isn’t fully embracing him.

“Tennis friendship is not the real friendship,” Stefano explained. “So, it's interesting also to observe how the all the tennis world react on the long period because right now I don't feel that all the community is very is totally on the Jannick side, even if Jannick is a very good, very good guy. There is a shadow hanging over him.”

Once the 23-year-old tires of skiing, Stefano expects him to resume training. But he cannot train at a venue connected with the ITF, the ATP or the WTA or come into contact with other professional players. So, until he can start “official training activity” on April 13th, Sinner will use a private training base. He is also not allowed to attend any ATP, WTA or ITF events in any kind of capacity until the ban is lifted on May 5th.

This appears likely to have an impact on his performance: clay is not his best surface, and, ideally, Sinner would have worked hard on that ahead of the French Open.

“On hard courts he is clearly the best tennis player in the world at the moment. But on clay it's a different sport. And he maybe had to prepare very well. And without official matches, it's not easy to find the, the pace, the rhythm of the competition. So, it's a crucial question. But I trust Jannick’s team. I trust in his determination, he’s a very professional guy. So, I think he will do everything he can.”

To download or listen to the podcast, use the links below.