the lack of transparency and uniformity of standards has plunged tennis into a crisis of trust due to sinner's positive drug test
2024-08-29
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although he successfully advanced in the first round of the men's singles, sinner's us open journey has always been shrouded in layers of doubts. the italian, currently ranked first in the world, recently announced that he had tested positive for doping twice in march. this news has caused a lot of controversy in the tennis world, with the focus of the debate being on the transparency of the handling process and the uniformity of the punishment standards.
why was information disclosure so slow and ambiguous about such a major incident? why did top players handle similar situations so differently from lesser players? these questions not only question the credibility of tennis's governing bodies, but also tore a rift in the world of tennis.
opaque procedures and inconsistent standards
on the eve of the first training session of the madrid masters in april this year, the 23-year-old sinner was trapped in a ban - he could not enter the competition venue or any official area. this was due to his two positive drug tests in march, which led to a temporary suspension.
according to the report of the international tennis integrity agency (itia), sinner was tested positive for clostebol during the indian wells masters on march 10 this year; eight days later, in the second drug test conducted outside the stadium, sinner was again tested for clostebol metabolites. in the world anti-doping agency's banned list, clostebol is listed as an "anabolic steroid that is prohibited for use at any time."
however, it was not until august 20 that the itia and sinner's team jointly announced the incident and the world of tennis learned about it. according to sinner's team, the positive test was because a physiotherapist used an over-the-counter spray that was easily available in italy to treat his own skin wounds between march 5 and 13. the spray contained clostebol; during the same period, the physiotherapist provided massage and sports therapy services to sinner every day, causing sinner to be contaminated through transdermal absorption without knowing it. on the same day, itia officially confirmed sinner's "innocence" in this incident, that is, he was not involved in any fault or negligence, and made public a detailed ruling report.
statement from sinner's team
regardless of whether the explanation given by sinner's team is reasonable, the italian was able to compete as usual before the final investigation results were settled, becoming the focus of public opinion. what is particularly noteworthy is that sinner's two temporary suspensions were both very short-april 4-5 and april 17-20, thanks to his quick and effective appeal against the temporary suspension decision and successful permission to continue competing.
in most doping cases, once an athlete receives notification of a positive test result, he or she immediately faces a temporary suspension, which often lasts until an independent court makes a final ruling on the case after a lengthy trial process.
however, in sinner's case, the situation is quite special: he took immediate action after learning the test results on april 4 and applied to lift the temporary suspension; even more surprisingly, the application was approved a day later, allowing him to quickly return to the court. the washington post pointed out that the biggest question in sinner's case is why other players were suspended during the appeal hearing, but he was allowed to participate in the competition.
before the truth of the incident was finally revealed, sinner and tennis-related institutions remained silent on the matter, further exacerbating public dissatisfaction. public opinion believed that this move violated the principle of openness and transparency and damaged the credibility of tennis.
the guardian believes that the fact that the world's number one player was found to have banned substances in his body twice is shocking enough; what is even more noteworthy is that this major event was able to be quietly hidden from the public eye. this "abnormal silence" makes the whole incident even more confusing.
top players suspected of preferential treatment
sinner has been a popular player in the circle since his debut, but since the news of his positive case was announced, it has aroused strong objections from most players.
the "reluctant acceptance faction" represented by american player tiafoe believes: "he can play, that's my opinion." the "skeptical faction" represented by players such as kyrgios, shapovalov, pouille, moore and others clearly pointed out that as a top player, sinner enjoyed completely different treatment from lower-level players.
spanish player baena said bluntly: "different players, different rules." "skeptics" believe that itia is unfair in its investigation procedures and handling results. sinner should at least be temporarily suspended first, and itia should also announce the news immediately when sinner tests positive.
romanian star simona halep obviously has more reason to question this incident. after nearly two years of long waiting, her appeal case was heard in court, and she was eventually banned for eight months. however, behind this was that she wasted more than a year during the appeal period. for a former grand slam champion over 30, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow to her career.
after the sinner incident was exposed, halep quoted romanian politician nicolae yorga's famous words in the book "injustice" on social media: "whoever is unfair to you does not owe you, but hurts himself."
british player moore also tested positive for doping and was immediately banned. after a months-long investigation, the itia determined that she had accidentally eaten contaminated meat, which allowed her to return to the court. this series of cases compared with the sinner incident has led to questions about whether the relevant management agencies have double standards when punishing players.
american tennis star evert said frankly that someone is deliberately protecting top players. the 18-time grand slam champion said: "the so-called 'protection' will be kept secret for several months. if you are a top player, they will keep certain things secret because they and the players don't want the media to know. i think this is more secure than being 'joe smith' ranked 400th in the world."
djokovic also mentioned the importance of uniform punishment standards reflected in the sinner case, and called for the establishment of rules and standards for anti-doping in tennis. "we see a lack of norms and clear protocols. i can understand the feelings of many players who question whether they are being treated the same. hopefully, the governing bodies of our sport will learn from this incident and take a better approach in the future. we must make changes collectively," djokovic said.
as french player pouille said: "if we want to make tennis an impeccable sport, we will not announce five months later that the world no. 1 and the first grand slam winner of the year tested positive for doping." if the relevant tennis management bodies take a laissez-faire attitude towards such incidents, the sport of tennis will face an unprecedented crisis of confidence.
author: wu yulun
text: reporter wu yulun photo: visual china editor: gu miao responsible editor: shen lei
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