SOFT DEAL: Dope cheat Jannik Sinner gets away too lightly

Like the good old ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not,’ the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has done a very soft deal with Jannik Sinner, giving him just a three-month ban, effective from February 9 to May 4. In fact, the agreement between the two parties is so convenient, a majority of the tennis fraternity has lashed out at it as a farce or joke.

The sport of tennis was rocked by two big doping incidents in 2024, first that of Sinner testing positive for Clostebol and then Iga Swiatek being delt with so kindly for a doping offence after she tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance. When Swiatek was let off lightly, everyone said the ITIA had been kind to her. Both Sinner and Swiatek competed at the Australian Open, with the former winning the title.

Even as the world was speculating what would happen to Sinner as the WADA had dragged him to CAS (Court for Arbitration of Sports) and the hearing would take place in April, the Sinner and WADA pact has become a joke. It is clear, the WADA has been kind to Sinner. So many athletes have been hauled over the coals. After all, the WADA was unhappy with the verdict given by ITIA and wanted to press for a four-year ban.

Yes, Sinner is high profile but to think he is needed at all the Grand Slams is bizarre. The way the whole thing has been scripted and played out, the backlash from the tennis fraternity is massive. It is clear, from cranky Nick Kyrgios to grand old man Stan Wawrinka and Briton Tim Henman, they are all mocking WADA. The general impression is the way the ban has been worked out Sinner will be ready for the French Open. Imagine, a big player gets token punishment and does not miss one Grand Slam. At the same time, there are so many lesser-known tennis players who have faced longer bans and their careers wiped out.

To be sure, it is not Sinner who deserves all the criticism, but WADA. What was the compulsion they soft-pedalled on Sinner? Was it his giant stature or was it due to other compulsions is the buzz now. Whichever way one looks at it, people have lost faith in the anti-doping mechanism in place in tennis. There is a big gap between the lesser ranked players and the big players. For those who get caught with low rankings, the punishment is stiff. And for the big guys, there is a way to beat the system. If that is the message going out, it is sad.

This soft ban will send a wrong signal to every dope cheat in the world, not just in tennis. Sample this, if one Sinner can get away, then so many more may be tempted to commit a crime and hope to get away. The larger message which reaches the audience from WADA is there is leniency for some athletes who are more special than the others. If this (Sinner) is used as an example and people got to the court for future cases and cite this as a reference, it will become embarrassing.

On a macro scale, the credibility of tennis would have taken a massive hit had Sinner been banned for four years. At a time when the fight against doping from grassroot level to highest level is measured, Sinner being pardoned is not a good example at all.