"An unpredictable presence": Sinner, the sensational attack that humiliates Jannik

The article by colleagues from the New York Times is actually a summary of the Sinner affair, if it weren't for the involvement of Mr. Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency USADA, which is a bitter enemy of WADA. " WADA made a stinking deal, using a secret clause," he says. Tygart's sentences perfectly explain why Jannik had to accept the three-month ban: he had already become the weapon in the hands of the two anti-doping agencies that are at war, going to trial would have made him the topic of the day for months, if not years.

The fact that there are several anti-doping agencies (there is also Itia in the mix, an organization dedicated to the integrity of tennis only) should say everything about how reliable the system is, but that's how it is. Sinner chose the lesser evil, the only one available to him to get out alive. It's clear what will happen from here on: Jannik will be identified as the one who induced Wada to change the rules, he was so famous and powerful. And Jannik can tolerate this, ignoring the inept as only he knows how. Spoiler: Wada will change some rules (with biblical timing: they will come into force in 2027) because they were absurd, not because Sinner is the best tennis player of all and had good lawyers. The changes to the code currently being considered would allow for lesser penalties in similar cases of involuntary doping.

UNPREDICTABLE The “unpredictable” presence of a banned substance in an athlete’s body, whether through food or exposure via a third party, would only be grounds for a warning or a short and proportional suspension, if successfully proven as Jannik did in the days immediately following the test. While we’re at it, let’s remind the minus habens like Kyrgios that this dynamic has happened “70 times since 2021,” according to what Ross Wenzel , the agency’s general consultant, told the BBC. All that remains is to find the silver lining in this nauseating story, namely that this too is all training for our Jannik. Mental training to survive this world of envious and inept people. Many of Sinner’s colleagues have proven to be such, considering that they have expressed their opinion on the matter without even deigning to read the papers, to inform themselves, to delve into a situation that could or may involve them personally.

Luckily there are also intelligent people like Vavassori (who pointed out the general ignorance), Draper or Casper Ruud. Here is the new entry in Sinner's army: «It doesn't happen often but it's not the first time that an agreement has been reached before the trial begins. If I had been in Jannik's place I would have wanted to have the opportunity to defend myself in an open trial, which I think he also wanted to do, but that way you risk it. Just look at how many innocent people end up in prison». And again, music to our ears: «I feel sorry for him. He will miss four Masters 1000 for something he didn't do intentionally». A nice paradox: the moment he found himself alone - far from the circuit, looking for a private villa to train in -, Sinner discovered he was in good company. Few allies, but good ones. Never so far away and yet incredibly close.