"This case has been transparent": Ex-ATP anti-doping chief backs WADA, Jannik Sinner agreement for three-month ban after failed doping tests

Former ATP anti-doping head Richard Ings has welcomed the agreement reached between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Italy’s Jannik Sinner. The case remains one of the most controversial ones in the history of tennis.

Sinner, often regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in two doping tests in March last year but miraculously managed to escape any ban.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) declared him innocent following a detailed hearing where his counsel claimed that the substance was available in the player’s sample because one member of the coaching staff had received a cream for the treatment of an injury.

Things turned ugly for the world number one in October last year when it was announced that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed against the ITIA’s verdict in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and demanded a two-year ban for the three-time Grand Slam winner. However, the issue finally came to a conclusion on Saturday as WADA announced that they had reached an agreement with Sinner, which will result in the player remaining out of action for three months.

“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024,” the statement said.

The agreement has been widely criticised by fans and current tennis players, who stated that such a move has tarnished the image of the sport. However, former ATP anti-doping head Ings welcomed the decision and believed that everything was done as per the protocols. In a post on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — he explained that Sinner did not get any favouritism from the authorities. “I’ve followed and analysed this case,” he wrote. “This case has been transparent. There is a 32 page detailed decision of every step of the process. There is now a detailed explanation of the plea agreement reached for the 3 month.”