Not long after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Italian tennis star Jannik Skinner agreed to a three-month ban as retribution for two positive doping tests, fellow sport heavyweight Nick Kyrgios has weighed in on the development, expressing frustration with what he seems to believe is a light punishment.
"So WADA come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban," Kyrgios wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Obviously Sinner's team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a three-month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist."
WADA did originally plan to seek at least a one-year suspension for Sinner in the wake of the International Tennis Integrity Agency's initial decision—which deemed the whole incident accidental—but revealed Saturday it had reached an agreement to ban the 23-year-old star from the sport for just three months. The timing means the three-time Grand Slam champion will be allowed to return in time for the French Open at the end of May.
Sinner claims traces of banned anabolic steroid Clostebol were found in his sample during the the Indian Wells Masters 1000 last March due to accidental contamination on the part of his physiotherapist. He was later stripped of the ranking points and prize money he received during that tournament but was permitted to continue playing. Last month, he defeated Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open finals.
Kyrgios has been open about his frustration with Sinner's case prior to now. When it was publicly revealed back in August that Sinner had failed the two tests, Kyrgios said it was "ridiculous" that his Italian counterpart was allowed to continue playing.
"Whether it was accidental or planned, you get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance you should be gone for two years," he wrote on X at the time. "Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream… Yeah, nice.”
Also on Saturday, Kyrgios added that he knows "a lot of players that are feeling the same way at the moment so looking to hold live spaces next week so we can talk about it."
Novak Djokovic, for one, has also previously taken issue with the handling of Sinner's case, claiming other players have been "kept in the dark" regarding developments and criticizing what he believes is a double standard in the sport.
For his part, Sinner said Saturday that “I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a 3-month sanction.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nick Kyrgios Slams Jannik Sinner Doping Settlement in Strongly-Worded Post.
