Hey, tennis fans It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, and I’m excited to dive into the latest tennis news that’s got everyone talking. If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for the next big story in the world of tennis. And trust me, this one’s a doozy!
So, let’s get straight to it. Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has been speaking out about the doping drama involving Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner. On Saturday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed that they’ve lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Sinner’s case. This comes after an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found Sinner not guilty of negligence for testing positive twice for Clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024.
Marion Bartoli, who herself has been a part of some intense doping controversies in her career, recently spoke to the French program RMC Les Grandes Gueules du Sport. She defended Jannik Sinner, calling the WADA move “ridiculous.” Bartoli highlighted that the quantities of Clostebol found in Sinner’s tests were extremely small and questioned why WADA would appeal such a decision.
“What is very complicated in this matter is that the ones declared by the ITIA are such small quantities that we find the dossier quite ridiculous. If the World Anti-Doping Agency decides to appeal, it means that it does not agree with the results of the tests. Unfortunately I do not have enough information to give more details, but since these are two different agencies, this means that WADA will most likely ask to re-test the samples themselves. So we will have to wait for those results,” she said.
WADA believes that Sinner’s finding of no fault or negligence under current rules is incorrect and is therefore asking for a period of disqualification ranging from 1 to 2 years.
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