Tennis fans have questioned whether Nick Kyrgios’ judgement in the Jannik Sinner case is clouded by the fact Sinner is dating his ex-girlfriend. Kyrgios has publicly condemned the decision to allow Sinner to avoid a ban and keep playing after the World No.1 tested positive to an anabolic steroid.
Sinner successfully argued that the steroid got into his system accidentally when his physio used a spray containing the banned substance on his own finger. The physio then massaged Sinner without wearing gloves, and the steroid got into Sinner’s bloodstream via a cut he had on his body – caused by an irritating skin condition.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency found Sinner’s explanation plausible and decided not to impose a ban. However the Italian World No.1 was docked prize money and rankings points he won at the Miami Open in March from when he tested positive twice.
The decision to allow Sinner to keep playing (even when he was under investigation) has sparked claims of double standards, with many suggesting lesser-ranked players wouldn’t have been afforded the same treatment. Kyrgios is among a number of tennis players to blast the decision, writing on social media: “Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for two years. Your performance was enhanced.
Investigators said there was a billionth of a gram of the steroid in Sinner’s system, which rendered it useless in terms of enhancing performance. Twitter even went to the length of adding a fact-check at the bottom of Kyrgios’ tweet.
“The report says there wasn’t any performance enhancing,” it reads. “Even if the administration had been intentional, the minute amounts likely to have been administered would not have had […] any relevant doping, or performance enhancing, effect upon the player.
Nick Kyrgios used to date Jannik Sinner’s girlfriend
Kyrgios has also engaged in a war of words with Italian tennis fans on social media over the Sinner case. And many have pointed out that Kyrgios might not be 100 per cent impartial because of who Sinner is dating.
Sinner has been in a relationship with Russian player Anna Kalinskaya for the last few months, and fans were quick to note that Kyrgios also dated Kalinskaya for a brief period in 2020 before things ended on bad terms. Shortly after they broke up, the World No.15 said “we aren’t friends” in regards to Kyrgios.
Kyrgios said at the time: “Nothing happened. We just went our separate ways. Unfortunately things didn’t work out. We had some fun memories.
Darren Cahill defends Jannik Sinner amid bombshell claims
Meanwhile, Sinner’s Aussie coach Darren Cahill has admitted the World No.1 was in a better position to fight his case than a lower-ranked player. “It makes it a little bit easier for someone that’s highly-ranked because you can afford to fight this case properly and fairly,” Cahill said. “Whereas I think a player ranked 300 or 500 or 1000 in the world, if they get into this situation, they don’t have the funds.”
However Cahill dismissed any suggestion Sinner was treated differently because he’s World No.1. “When they determined whether or not the story that we said and how this substance got into his system, the ITIA, they hired two of their own experts … and we had one of our experts as well. So three experts all said that it’s highly likely this story is correct,” Cahill said. “The integrity of the way it was handled, the ranking doesn’t matter.
