Sports
Why the WADA appeal into Jannik Sinner doping case cuts to the heart of anti-doping priorities
At the heart of the doping case against Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, is an existential debate about the policing of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sport.
Are the primary goals to catch cheats and prevent athletes from gaining unfair advantages over their peers? What happens when the enforcers of the World Anti-Doping Code see violations but uniformly agree that an athlete didn’t gain or chase such an edge?
Numerous athletes have found themselves in the middle of this debate and now the two-time Grand Slam champion is having his turn, with one anti-doping agency taking another anti-doping agency to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
An apology to anyone with a sensitivity to the alphabet soup of sports bureaucracy.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed a ruling from an independent panel convened by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which found that the 23-year-old bore “no fault or negligence” after twice testing positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid on the WADA prohibited substances list. The panel still found that he had committed two anti-doping violations.
WADA said in a statement that it is not seeking for any of Sinner’s results to be disqualified, aside from his run to the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open, held at Indian Wells, Calif. (Those results were already disqualified in the decision shared by the ITIA).
It is contesting the dismissal of any blame attributable to Sinner, which, it says, “was not correct under the applicable rules”.
WADA therefore accepts the final ruling that Sinner did not intentionally dope, but is still making a point about its own credibility by seeking to change the terms of that ruling.
Sinner, who recently won the U.S. Open, could be banned from tennis for between one and two years if WADA prevails.
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World anti-doping agency seeks ban of up to two years in Jannik Sinner case appeal
Sinner was informed of his positive tests in late March. The ITIA said he tested positive for clostebol on March 10, at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., and again on March 18, between that tournament and the Miami Open. The results carried mandatory provisional suspensions, which Sinner appealed.
At each appeal, and in a final hearing on Aug. 15, three separate independent tribunals convened by the ITIA and conducted by Sport Resolutions, an arbitration company, accepted the Italian world No. 1’s explanation for the positive tests. His physiotherapist, Umberto Ferrara, had brought Trofodermin, an over-the-counter healing spray containing clostebol, to Indian Wells. His physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, cut his hand and used the spray on that cut. Naldi then conducted massages on Sinner, which led to contamination with the substance on Naldi’s skin getting to Sinner’s skin.
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Jannik Sinner built the team that made him world No. 1. Then he blew it up
Those tribunal decisions meant that Sinner first avoided the two provisional suspensions, and then, in the final hearing, a “period of ineligibility”, which would have been a dreaded, reputation-destroying ban. The first two successful appeals also meant that his case remained private until that final hearing, under ITIA protocol.
At the final hearing, the independent tribunal ruled that Sinner was not at fault for the positive tests. It said he received no advantage from clostebol, a notorious and antiquated anabolic steroid that East Germany used as part of state-sponsored doping programs in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Even if the administration had been intentional, the minute amounts likely to have been administered would not have had any relevant doping, or performance enhancing, effect upon the player,” said Professor David Cowan, a member of the tribunal who explained the ruling.
Still, since the clostebol was in his system, Sinner was found to have committed two anti-doping violations, for which the ITIA stripped him of his ranking points, prize money and results from Indian Wells. But it did not seek a suspension.
After six months of playing under a secret cloud, Sinner won the U.S. Open, the first tournament after the ITIA publicized the case and final ruling.
But three weeks later, on Saturday, WADA publicized its appeal against that ruling. The case now goes to CAS, generally the final arbiter of sports doping litigation.
Jannik Sinner is currently playing in Beijing, at the China Open. (Lintao Zhang / Getty Images)
Sinner is none too pleased. In a statement issued that Saturday, Sinner noted that there he had already gone through three separate hearings that confirmed he hadn’t intentionally broken the rules or competed unfairly.
“I understand these things need to be thoroughly investigated to maintain the integrity of the sport we all love,” he said. “However, it is difficult to see what will be gained by asking a different set of three judges to look at the same facts and documentation all over again.”
Sinner and WADA now find themselves in difficult territory. Ever since the ITIA’s announcement, Sinner has indirectly faced criticism — some of it more vituperative than verifiable — over perceptions of preferential treatment. Tennis is a sport of double standards, from better court allocations and higher appearance fees for higher-ranked players, to a keener ear from tennis authorities on the biggest issues in the sport. Sinner, as world No. 1, has more powerful and more readily available legal resources than most tennis players would in a similar situation.
While in other anti-doping cases, players have been provisionally suspended for many months while under investigation, it remains that the so-called silence over his case was not an element of preferential treatment, and instead adherence to the ITIA’s process for investigation.
Other Italian tennis players who have tested positive for the same substance as Sinner have been suspended and found at fault. Stefano Battaglino, another Italian tennis player, received a four-year ban in 2023. Battaglino failed to prove that his testing positive for clostebol was inadvertent after it was detected during a random drug test at an ITF event in Tunisia.
Jannik Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals at Indian Wells, where the first positive test was recorded. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
This is one of the most complicated factors. Italy has a widespread and readily acknowledged issue with athletes testing positive for clostebol, because it is freely sold in the country as an ingredient in healing products — including the Trofodermin that Ferrara brought to Indian Wells. WADA has stated that around half the cases of positive clostebol tests come from the country.
WADA, meanwhile, is dealing with the aftermath of its decision not to investigate 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the same heart drug seven months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The swimmers were allowed to compete, and several of the athletes went on to win medals. In its statement on the case, issued in April 2024 after what it called, “Some misleading and potentially defamatory media coverage,” the agency said that it “was not in a position to disprove the possibility that contamination was the source” of the positive tests.
Travis Tygart, the leader of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and a key figure in the cases of Lance Armstrong in cycling and Alberto Salazar in track, on Saturday tied their situations to WADA’s decision on Sinner.
“It’s unimaginable that WADA leaders would appeal this case when the rules were clearly followed by tennis yet do nothing when China swept 23 positive tests under the carpet that indisputably violated the rules,” Tygart said.
“As athletes are held to high standards by anti-doping authorities, it’s high time for WADA decision makers to also be.”
WADA responded to that statement by criticizing Tygart. “It is strange for Mr. Tygart to comment on a case when he is not involved, has not reviewed the file and does not have all the facts to hand. It is equally strange he would then compare it to a completely unrelated case in which he was also not involved and does not have the facts to hand,” said James Fitzgerald, a WADA spokesperson. “It might be more productive for Mr. Tygart to spend his time working on the problems in U.S. anti-doping rather than constantly commenting on what is going on elsewhere in the world.”
WADA acknowledges that the detection of clostebol has been greatly enhanced in recent years by advances in technology that make it possible to detect lower concentrations.
That has helped catch some instances of doping, especially when it comes to hard-to-detect new substances. But it has also led to capturing innocent athletes who, judging by the levels of a given substance detected, are not doping — at least not with the substance that triggers a positive test.
WADA’s rules, in this case, appear to still be catching up with its testing advances, creating an imbalance between science and administration as athletes see their careers and reputations at stake.
(Top photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images)
Sports
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum questions Trump’s college sports reform meeting as potential ‘circus’
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President Donald Trump will host a White House roundtable regarding college athletics reform later this week.
The panel is expected to include prominent coaches, college sports and pro sports league commissioners, and other professional athletes, according to OutKick.
The group will meet March 6 to examine solutions to key challenges, including NCAA authority; name, image and likeness issues (NIL); collective bargaining; and governance concerns.
President Donald Trump holds a football presented to him during a ceremony to present the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the US Naval Academy football team, the Navy Midshipmen, in the East Room of the White House on April 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The meeting Friday will include big names like Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Adam Silver and Tiger Woods. Trump has been adamant about “saving college sports,” even signing an executive order setting new restrictions on payments to college athletes back in July.
However, ESPN college analyst Paul Finebaum, who has previously hinted at a congressional run as a Republican, remains a bit skeptical.
“The easiest thing, guys, is just to say this is ridiculous,” Finebaum said to Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on WJOX. “And I read the other day, ‘Why is Nick Saban going?’ Why is anybody going? The bottom line is this. If something doesn’t happen very quickly, and I mean in the next short period of time, we’re talking about weeks, not years, then this thing could blow up.
“However it came about, I’m in favor of. The question now becomes, with some of the most powerful people in Washington in the same room, including the most powerful person in the country, can anything get done, or will it be a circus? Will it be just another show?”
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with former Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban as Trump takes the stage to address graduating students at Coleman Coliseum at the University of Alabama on May 01, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump’s order prohibits athletes from receiving pay-to-play payments from third-party sources. However, the order did not impose any restrictions on NIL payments to college athletes by third-party sources.
A House vote on the SCORE Act (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements), which would regulate name, image, and likeness deals, was canceled shortly before it was set to be brought to the floor in December.
The White House endorsed the act, but three Republicans, Byron Donalds, Fla., Scott Perry, Pa., and Chip Roy, Texas, voted with Democrats not to bring the act to the floor. Democrats have largely opposed the bill, urging members of the House to vote “no.”
President Donald Trump looks on before the college football game between the US Army and Navy at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, on Dec. 13, 2025. (Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
The SCORE Act would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in hopes of protecting the NCAA from potential lawsuits over eligibility rules and would prohibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools. It prohibits schools from using student fees to fund NIL payments.
Fox News’ Chantz Martin and Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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Lakers center Jaxson Hayes falls after Pelicans forward Zion Williamson commits an offensive foul as Lakers guard Austin Reaves watches at at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Matching the physicality of Pelicans forwards Zion Williamson and Saddiq Bey was on the top of the Lakers’ scouting report. But the task is easier said than done.
Reaves admitted to being “terrified” of stepping in front of a driving Williamson to draw a charge. The 6-foot-6, 284-pound Pelicans forward is just as physical as he is athletic, creating a fearsome combination for defenders. Healthy for the first time in two seasons, Williamson led the Pelicans with 24 points on 10-for-18 shooting.
“We haven’t seen somebody like that in a long time, right?” Smart said. “[With] his ability. But [being] willing to put your body there, take a charge, take an elbow to the face, box him out, go vertical, is definitely something that you got to be willing to do, and not everybody’s willing to do it. And that’s the difference in the game.”
Center Jaxson Hayes was up to the task. He absorbed a Williamson elbow in the fourth quarter and ended up in the front row of the stands holding his jaw. But the knock was worth it for the offensive foul that helped maintain the Lakers’ 14-0 run that quickly erased the Pelicans’ eight-point lead. The scoring streak started immediately after Hayes subbed back into the game with 7:20 remaining after he scored on his first possession, cutting to the basket for a dunk off an assist from Doncic.
Hayes had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks, playing nearly 23 minutes off the bench in his biggest workload as a substitute since Jan. 20 against Denver. After playing with Hayes in New Orleans during the center’s first two years in the league, Redick lauded the seven-year pro’s improvement. Hayes is sinking touch shots around the rim now. He has improved his decision making in the pocket. After getting benched for his defensive lapses last season, Hayes has impressed coaches with his consistent ability to stay vertical while protecting the rim. And he still brings the same trademark athleticism that made him the eighth overall pick in 2019.
“He consistently injects energy into the group when he runs the floor, blocks a shot, or he gets those dunks,” Redick said.
Sports
Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: ‘A lot of people just don’t understand’
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Eileen Gu released a statement on social media Monday, reflecting on her controversial decision to compete for Team China despite being born and raised in the U.S.
Gu’s statement tied the decision back to her passion for promoting women’s sports, and encouraging young girls to pursue sports.
“I gave my first speech on women in sports and title IX when I was 11 years old. I talked about being the only girl on my ski team, and, despite attending an all-girls’ school from Monday through Friday, becoming best friends with my teammates on the weekends through the common language of sport,” Gu wrote on Instagram.
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“At the same time, I was made painfully aware of the lack of representation – at age 9, I felt that I was somehow representing all women every time I stepped in the terrain park. Landing tricks was about more than progression … it was about disproving the derisive implication of what it meant to ‘ski like a girl.’”
Gu went on to express gratitude for the one season in which she did compete for the U.S.
“When I was 15, I announced my decision to compete for China. At the time, I had spent one season on the US team, and had been lucky enough to meet my heroes in person. I am forever grateful for that season, and continue to maintain a close relationship with the team. I had spent every summer in China since I was 8 setting up summer camps on trampoline and dry slope for kids and adults, ranging from 7 to 47 years old, so I knew the industry was tiny. I felt like I knew everyone,” she added.
“Skiing for Team China meant the opportunity to uplift others through the universal culture of sport, and to introduce freeskiing to hundreds of millions of people who had never heard of it, especially with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics around the corner.”
Gu’s statement concluded by acknowledging that certain people “don’t understand” her decision to compete for China over the U.S., while insisting the choice maximized the impact she would have.
“I can look back now, at 22, and tell 12 year old Eileen that there are now terrain parks full of little girls, who will never doubt their place in the sport. I can tell 15 year old me that there are now millions of girls who have started skiing since then, in China and worldwide,” Gu wrote.
“A lot of people won’t understand or believe that I made a decision to create the greatest amount of positive impact on the world stage that I could, at this age, given my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I can confidently say was once a dream is now a reality.”
Gu has become a target for global criticism this Olympics for her decision to represent China while remaining silent on the country’s alleged human rights abuses.
In an interview with Time magazine, Gu was asked her thoughts on China’s alleged persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
“I haven’t done the research. I don’t think it’s my business. I’m not going to make big claims on my social media,” Gu answered.
“I’m just more of a skeptic when it comes to data in general. … So, it’s not like I can read an article and be like, ‘Oh, well, this must be the truth.’ I need to have a ton of evidence. I need to maybe go to the place, maybe talk to 10 primary source people who are in a location and have experienced life there.
“Then I need to go see images. I need to listen to recordings. I need to think about how history affects it. Then I need to read books on how politics affects it. This is a lifelong search. It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda.”
More controversy surrounding Gu erupted after The Wall Street Journal reported that Gu and another American-born athlete who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025.
Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympics athlete in the world, making an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone due to partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China and western companies.
Her alignment with China prompted criticism from many Americans this Olympics, including Vice President J.D. Vance.
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”
Later, when Gu was asked if she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment,” she said she does.
“I do,” she said. “So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So, it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And, also, because I win. Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Gu has claimed she was “physically assaulted” for the decision.
“The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed,” Gu told The Athletic.
“I’ve gone through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”
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