Jannik Sinner's doping scandal: ex-CAS member reveals stakes

Former member of the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) Angelo Cascella has expressed the risk involved for Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the upcoming hearing regarding his failed dope test. The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as the best player in the world in men’s tennis in the singles category, has been in the spotlight after testing positive for banned substance Clostebol in two doping tests back in March.

Despite that, interestingly, Sinner managed to escape any ban as the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the player’s counsel’s response where they claimed that the availability of the banned substance in the player’s sample was because of receiving cream for the treatment of an injury from one member of the coaching staff.

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In September, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lodged an appeal against the decision in front of the CAS. A former employee of the CAS Cascella has been recently quoted in a report where he talked about what kind of threat Sinner faces in the trial, which does not only include the threat of suspension but also financial threats.

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"Sponsorship contracts generally contain clauses that, in the event of a positive anti-doping test, can lead to the cancellation of a contract itself or to the payment of penalties by the athlete himself who may be found positive,” he said. “The risk for the athlete is to face sanctions, with Wada having requested a disqualification of one to two years, therefore focusing on fault or negligence. Since some analyses have been carried out and the existence of doping traces has been demonstrated, the athlete risks a sentence of one to two years. In these cases, there may be intent or fault or negligence. In the first case, the sentence can reach up to four years of disqualification, in the second, as requested for Sinner, it goes from one to two years. There is a risk of a sentence, but at the same time it is possible that the parties will hear from each other in these months and a settlement agreement can be found on something that is good for both and the hearing judgement can be suspended since it will not arrive before spring 2025.”