Former British number one Tim Henman says the ban is “too convenient” and believes it will leave tennis fans with a “pretty sour taste”, while Australia’s former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios called it a “sad day for tennis”.
“Obviously having just won the Australian Open, to miss three months of the Tour and therefore to be eligible to play at Roland Garros, the timing couldn’t have been any better for Sinner, but I still think it leaves a pretty sour taste for the sport,” Henman told Sky Sports.
“When you’re dealing with drugs in sport it very much has to be black and white, it’s binary, it’s positive or negative, you’re banned or you’re not banned.
“When you start reading words like settlement or agreement, it feels like there’s been a negotiation and I don’t think that will sit well with the player cohort and the fans of the sport.”
In a post on X, Kyrgios wrote: “So Wada come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban. Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a three month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”
Sinner’s lawyer Jamie Singer said on Saturday: “Wada has confirmed the facts determined by the Independent Tribunal. It is clear that Jannik had no intent, no knowledge, and gained no competitive advantage. Regrettably, errors made by members of his team led to this situation.”
Accusations that Sinner has received preferential treatment, because of his status, were disputed by the ITIA.
Karen Moorhouse, chief executive of the ITIA, said: “The way we manage cases does not change, irrespective of the profile of the player involved.”
World number four Novak Djokovic said in October that Sinner’s doping case was “not helping tennis at all”, while Australia’s Kyrgios previously said: “Two world number ones both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport. It’s a horrible look.”
British player Tara Moore, who was provisionally banned for two years while challenging a doping charge of which she was eventually cleared, suggested top players were “treated differently”.
But two-time major finalist Casper Ruud concluded there was “no discrimination” in favour of Sinner if “you have read the documents”.
