ATP boss says tennis will survive if Sinner gets banned
The head of menâs tennis has vehemently rejected claims Jannik Sinner has received favourable treatment and is confident the sport will âsurviveâ if the world No.1 ultimately cops a lengthy doping ban.
In an exclusive and candid interview with AAP, the ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi insisted Sinnerâs doping affair had been ârun by the bookâ and that, just like Novak Djokovic â who has complained about players being left in the dark over the controversy â he too wasnât told before the firestorm.
Sinner has arrived in Melbourne for his Australian Open title defence with his future under a murky cloud after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed a decision to ban him for one month for twice testing positive for an anabolic steroid last March.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency ruled Sinner was not at fault. It accepted the 23-year-oldâs explanation that the banned performance enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who apparently used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger.
However, with WADA appealing, Sinner could still be suspended for up to two years if found guilty.
Gaudenzi urged fans and the media to be patient and let the matter play out.
âI genuinely believe there has been a lot of misinformation out there, which is unfortunate,â Gaudenzi said ahead of Sinnerâs Open title defence starting on Sunday.
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âI am 100 per cent sure that there has not been any preferential treatment. The process has been run by the book and according to the rules, by the ITIA.
âIâm extremely pleased that the ITIA is now in place, which wasnât the case, for example, in the â90s when I was playing. It was the responsibility of the ATP or the WTA to manage the tennis anti-doping program.
Gaudenzi said he wasnât informed of the Sinner saga before many others, and pleaded for patience.
âI found out two days before the announcement from the ITA â the way it should have been,â he said at Melbourne Park.
âI initially was a bit shocked. [But] it is completely independent and they obviously went to an independent panel.â
Gaudenzi believes itâs lazy for armchair critics to offer up âconspiracy theoriesâ.
âItâs a very popular thing to say â heâs No.1 in the world, obviously heâs Italian and Iâm Italian,â Gaudenzi said.
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âPeople sometimes confuse the outcome of a specific case versus the process. I think thatâs where the problem is.
âThe process is identical â he hasnât been treated differently. But every case is different, every circumstance is different.
âSometimes a player might appeal a suspension and might not get the appeal. Sometimes they do, and it depends on the evidence and it depends on the expert opinion and it depends on the substance.
âIt depends on a very large number of variables.â
Gaudenzi pleaded for fans and stakeholders to let the matter play out
âThe case is still ongoing. WADA appealed so it is not over yet and justice is doing its course,â he said.
âBut I really want to underline and assure everyone that the process has been 100 per cent by the book.
âWe have the full evidence and anyone who wants to dig deeper and actually read the documents, weâll understand.â
If Sinner was banned, Gaudenzi conceded that âobviously itâs not good for the sport and it would be a shameâ.
âBut we will have to live with it and justice will do its course,â he said.
âIf that is the case, I think heâll survive and I think weâll survive. Overall, tennis is a very strong product.
âWhen I started, I was in the age of âOK, youâre going to have an issue because Rafa [Nadal] or Roger [Federer] or Novak [Djokovic] are retiring and thereâs a new generationâ.
âIâve lived through the whole Agassi and Sampras, âwhen they retire itâs going to be a disasterâ type of thing. But the whole product is very, very strong.â
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