WADA defends itself after Sinner's suspension: "The sanctions we impose do not depend on the calendar"
Late last week, the decision came down. World number 1 Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month suspension, effective February 9, after testing positive for clostebol last year at Indian Wells.
The player was suspended because of negligence on the part of his staff members in the case, but the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that Sinner had no intention of cheating in a statement issued on Saturday.
Several players have reacted to the news, including Novak Djokovic, who said there may have been favoritism involved.
For the BBC, WADA's General Counsel Ross Wenzel has been speaking in recent hours, and went into more detail about the Sinner case.
"This is a case that is light years away from a doping case. The scientific feedback we've had has confirmed that there was no intention on the part of the player to dope, including micro-dosing.
When we analyze this kind of case, we do so on a technical and operational level, and we don't do it out of fear of what public opinion or politicians might say.
Once you've reached an agreement, what you can't do is say, 'Oh, but we're going to apply this sanction in two months for three months.' It has to take effect immediately.
Of course, once the agreement is reached, it's important that the information is made public for reasons of transparency," he begins.
"The sanctions we impose do not depend on timing. The appropriate sanction must be imposed and must take effect as soon as possible.
It should not be modified or take into account whether the events that occur are significant or not.
I've checked the figures, and since the resolution agreement provision began in January 2021, there have been 67 cases similar to this one.
Some were resolved in the first instance with WADA's agreement, and others had to wait until the end of the CAS proceedings," concludes Wenzel.
