Jannik Sinner raised some eyebrows after being spotted at a fashion show despite his suspension from professional tennis, but Rennae Stubbs does not think the annoyance about it was justified.
The terms of Sinner’s ban from tennis do not prohibit him from attending events outside the sport. He is suspended until May 4th after settling his high-profile doping saga with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Sinner tested positive twice for clostebol almost 12 months ago at the 2024 Indian Wells Open. WADA appealed the decision to clear him, but eventually initiated attempts to settle the case rather than go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Despite WADA acknowledging that Sinner was a million miles away from doping after accidentally being contaminated, some are angry about the case settlement, feeling the ATP world No. 1 received preferential treatment compared to others.
The controversy surrounding Sinner and his ongoing suspension meant the Italian’s appearance as a guest of honor at the Gucci Fashion Show was not looked upon favorably by many.
A user on X (formerly Twitter) questioned whether players like Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep, who also served bans after testing positive for banned substances, continued to receive favorable coverage from many media outlets while they were suspended.
Stubbs responded to the user by writing that Sinner had been cleared of any wrongdoing by WADA and was serving a three-month ban due to the incompetence of his fitness coach and physiotherapist at the time, who were responsible for contaminating him without his knowledge.
“Because ‘he’ was cleared of any wrongdoing. He is serving a ban based on his team’s incompetence in the eyes of WADA. The aforementioned players had different suspensions.”
The former doubles No. 1 then responded to another reply by a user. She told fans that the International Tennis Integrity Agency and WADA admitted he was not at fault. Stubbs thinks WADA needed a win of some kind, which is why it offered a three-month suspension.
“ITIA and WADA both cleared him and said he was not at fault. WADA knew they needed a win of some sort to make sure players don’t use that excuse going forward. ‘My team’ contaminated me. There was ambiguity in this judgement with his team being the cause but they needed something.”
That social media post shows how WADA has been criticized from both sides of the argument. Many, such as Toni Nadal, do not think Sinner deserves to be banned, and some who hold that view think WADA settled the case to avoid the potential embarrassment of losing a CAS appeal hearing.
By contrast, others think Sinner received favorable treatment and should have had to go through an appeal hearing. Nick Kyrgios, the world No. 1’s most vocal critic since the case became public, called the case settlement a sad day for tennis.
WADA might think that being criticized by both sides means the three-month ban was proportionate. Regardless, the strong feelings surrounding Sinner’s case will not evaporate anytime soon.
