Jannik Sinner: Doping ban's timing perfect for him - Liam Broady - Voice of Asia

British player Liam Broady believes that Jannik Sinner's three-month ban for doping was strategically timed to minimize the impact on the world's number one player's career. This calculated approach aims to protect Sinner's standing in the sport.

The Italian player accepted an immediately enforceable three-month ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Saturday after reaching a settlement regarding two positive drug tests last year. Sinner won the Australian Open in January this year, further solidifying his position as a top player.

Sinner's ban runs from February 9th to May 4th, meaning he will be eligible to compete in the French Open, the next Grand Slam event of the year, which starts on May 19th. Broady told BBC Sport: "I think the timing of the ban has been carefully considered to minimize the impact on Jannik's career as much as possible."

Broady pointed out that the ban ends the day before the Rome Masters, a great opportunity for Sinner to play in the biggest tournament in his home country and prepare for the French Open. He added that Sinner would not lose any (ranking) points or his world number one position as a result, making the ban "interesting."

Sinner tested positive for the prohibited substance clostebol in March, but was found to have no wrongdoing after an independent panel investigation. WADA had previously sought a two-year ban and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) decided not to ban Sinner in 2024. However, an agreement was reached after accepting Sinner's claim that he was accidentally exposed to the prohibited substance and had "no intention of cheating."

Broady, ranked number 766 in the world, said he was "a little disappointed" with the ruling, adding that "the ban doesn't seem to carry much of a penalty." He further stated: "It seems like favoritism towards the better players on the tour. I'm not saying he did it on purpose, but if the same thing happened to other players, would we get the same treatment? Would we get the same respect?"

Broady is not the first player to question whether Sinner used a powerful legal team to navigate the system. He stated: "That's how the system should work, but obviously he has a multi-million-pound legal team to exploit that and make the system work, which the rest of us don't."

Broady added: "In tennis, we're all kind of self-employed, and a lot of us don't earn millions of pounds a year to deal with these kinds of things. I would like to see, I don't know if it's possible, the ATP be able to provide legal teams for everyone, good legal teams, that everyone has to use, whether it's Jannik, or Tara Moore when she was banned, or Mikael Ymer when he was banned. Everyone has the same legal team – money shouldn't play a part."

British player Moore was banned in June 2022 for violating anti-doping regulations, but the ban was overturned in December 2023. Swedish player Ymer was banned for 18 months for violating anti-doping regulations. Broady added: "I don't like that financial situations might have affected the outcome of this incident, compared to other cases."

2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev said it was a "bad sign" if other players did not have the opportunity to secure strong legal representation. The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has launched a new program to help players facing doping or corruption charges obtain free legal support to ensure they have access to "world-class legal expertise, regardless of the player's financial situation and personal resources."

Novak Djokovic believes it is time to reform the "unfair" anti-doping system. He said at the Qatar Open in Doha: "Most players think it's unfair. Most players think there is favoritism. If it's a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers, it seems that you can almost influence the outcome."

Djokovic added: "Now is a great time for us to really address this system, because the system and structure are clearly not working in anti-doping, that's obvious. The problem is that there is currently a general lack of trust among tennis players, both men and women, in WADA and ITIA and the whole process. I hope that in the near future, the governing bodies of our tour and the tennis ecosystem can come together and work to find more effective ways to handle these processes. It's inconsistent and it seems very unfair."