It didn\u2019t take long for Nick Kyrgios to give his verdict on Jannik Sinner\u2019s three-month ban from tennis after his failed drug tests \u2013 and it will come as no surprise that it is damning.<\/p>\n
Australian player Kyrgois has been the most outspoken critic of Sinner since he tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol last March.<\/p>\n
World No 1 Sinner tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol last March, but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that it was down to accidental contamination.<\/p>\n
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has challenged the verdict and has asked for the Italian \u2013 who won last year\u2019s US Open title shortly after the test was made public \u2013 to be banned from the sport for between one and two years.<\/p>\n
Now it has been confirmed that \u2018an agreement\u2019 has been reached between WADA and Sinner\u2019s team that will see him banned for just three months and crucially, he will be back in time to play in the French Open in May.<\/p>\n
WADA accepts that Sinner \u201cdid not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage\u201d.<\/p>\n
Their statement revealed how they had reached their agreement with the Italian as it read: \u201cUnder the code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage\u2019s negligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyrgois was quick to question that decision, as he voiced an opinion many will share of what appears to be a \u2018deal\u2019 to avoid a longer ban.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo WADA come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban,\u201d he wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Sinner\u2019s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3-month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former British No 1 Tim Henman rarely dips his toe in contentious tennis issues, but he agreed that the WADA\/Sinner agreement left plenty of questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost I don\u2019t think in any way he has been trying to cheat at any stage, I don\u2019t believe that,\u201d four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman told Sky Sports News.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, when I read this statement this morning it just seems a little bit too convenient.<\/p>\n
Exclusive: ITIA chief insists Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek did not get different treatment after failed drug tests<\/a><\/p>\n What happened after Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek\u2019s failed drug tests? Full explainer<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cObviously having just won the Australian Open, to miss three months of the Tour and therefore to be eligible to play at Roland Garros, the timing couldn\u2019t have been any better for Sinner, but I still think it leaves a pretty sour taste for the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with drugs in sport it very much has to be black and white, it\u2019s binary, it\u2019s positive or negative, you\u2019re banned or you\u2019re not banned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you start reading words like settlement or agreement, it feels like there\u2019s been a negotiation and I don\u2019t think that will sit well with the player cohort and the fans of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n Almost a year has passed since the failed doping test and Henman suggests the wait to reach this verdict has been too elongated.<\/p>\n \u201cHe tested positive in Indian Wells in March, a long time ago, and to have had this cloud over his head also emphasises how we need to get to these conclusions a lot quicker,\u201d said Henman.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Sinner\u2019s point of view, he will be very keen to serve his ban, draw a line in the sand and get ready for Roland Garros, which is such a big priority for him.\u201d<\/p>\n This deal feels like a very convenient timeframe for Sinner and he will have plenty of questions to answer about this story for the rest of his career.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner \u2018reaches agreement\u2019 with WADA as suspension is confirmed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Nick Kyrgios opens fire on Jannik Sinner after doping \u2018deal\u2019 as Tim Henman voices concern<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It didn\u2019t take long for Nick Kyrgios to give his verdict on Jannik Sinner\u2019s three-month ban from tennis after his failed drug tests \u2013 and it will come as no surprise that it is damning. Australian player Kyrgois has been the most outspoken critic of Sinner since he tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}