"There was no favoritism": Jannik Sinner's lawyer defends agreement with WADA

Lawyer of the world number one Jannik Sinner, Jamie Singer, has come out in defence of the deal between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the player. Both parties have been under severe criticism after as soon as the agreement announced which will see the 23-year-old, who is often regarded as the best player currently playing in men’s tennis, to serve a three-month ban.

One thing that has raised concerns of fellow tennis players, as revealed by former world number one Novak Djokovic, is the timing of the ban. The ban will not only see Sinner return to the court a week before the start of the Rome Masters, the biggest competition in Italy, but it will also ensure that the three-time Grand Slam winner will not miss a single major competition this year.

Sinner’s lawyer Singer has recently spoken to Sky Sports Italy where defended the agreement between WADA and his client. Singer stated that the reigning world number one did not receive any favouritism during the whole process. He also stated that it took some time before Sinner finally agreed to the deal of facing three-month suspension instead of fighting an appeal from WADA in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“I think tennis players are always hawks when another player is involved in a similar situation and try to hide when they are involved,” he said. “This is all very unfair. Sinner was judged in a ‘textbook’ trial from the beginning. There was no favoritism. It was just the circumstances of his positive test that were very unusual. Jannik says he feels he was treated quite harshly, but he accepts that everyone has the right to their own opinion. Tennis players do not have the opportunity to know all the details of the story, so they simply express opinions. But perhaps the facts deserve to be explored more deeply. It took some time to convince Sinner that the case resolution was the right thing to do. Accepting Wada's offer rather than going to the CAS.”