Director Niggli explains: “In the decision it was considered that there was no fault on Sinner’s part, but we think that the athlete still has a responsibility towards his entourage”
Everything postponed to 2025 due to Wada’s appeal on Jannik Sinner’s case. In fact, a decision from the CAS will certainly not be made by the end of the year, as Wada director Olivier Niggli confirmed to AFP, that despite the openings of the last few days and the change of rules for 2027, especially on the doses considered minimum and on contamination, however clarified the position of the World Anti-Doping Agency regarding the appeal on the positivity of the world No. 1: “In the decision it was considered that there was no fault on Sinner’s part, but we think that there is still an athlete’s responsibility to his entourage,” Niggli said.
fatal March
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The South Tyrolean had tested positive twice in March for infinitesimal traces of a banned substance, Clostebol, used by his former trainer Naldi, who effectively contaminated the Italian with a massage. An independent tribunal at the end of August, requested by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), then ruled that the world no.1, who continued to play, had “no fault or negligence”. A decision against which Wada appealed, requesting a disqualification of a minimum of one year to a maximum of two years. “We do not dispute the fact that it may have been a contamination, but we believe that the application of the rules does not correspond to the rules”, continued Niggli, who also harshly criticized the ITIA for having late revealed the positivity of Sinner and the number two of the women’s world Iga Swiatek, believes that “athletes must be protected. Personally I think an athlete’s reputation should be our first concern. We live in a world where social media is what it is and it means that a reputation can go up in smoke in a very, very short time.”