Jannik Sinner will arrive in New York on Monday as the men's top seed and one of the leading contenders to win his second Grand Slam title at the US Open. He also does so at the centre of a doping storm that has split the opinion of the tennis world and is now dominating the build-up to the season's fourth and final major tournament.
It was announced on Tuesday that world No 1 Sinner tested positive during Indian Wells in March for low levels of the banned substance clostebol, a steroid that can be used to aid in building muscle mass. A second test was administered eight days later that also tested positive for the same substance.
The 23-year-old Italian was handed an immediate provisional suspension but was allowed to continue playing having successfully challenged the decision. Sinner maintained that he had been contaminated by his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, who had applied an over-the-counter spray, which contained clostebol, to a cut on his own hand before carrying out treatments on Sinner.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner's explanation that he had been inadvertently contaminated, with an independent tribunal clearing the Australian Open champion of fault or negligence. A statement from the ITIA revealed less than a billionth of a gram of clostebol was detected in the tests.
Sinner did not escape completely punishment-free as the Italian was stripped of the 400 ranking points he won at Indian Wells and the $325,000 prize money.
“I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me," Sinner said in a statement. "I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I comply with the ITIA’s anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”
Sinner may be happy to move on, but some of his peers are not. Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios suggested he is not buying the explanation and was left bemused at the lack of a lengthy suspension.
“Ridiculous - whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance ... you should be gone for 2 years,” Kyrgios wrote on X. “Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream ... Yeah nice.”
Former world No 10 Denis Shapovalov directed his ire at the authorities for a lack of consistency. Perhaps the most famous doping case in tennis history involved Maria Sharapova, one of the sport's biggest stars who in 2016 tested positive for meldonium, a substance that had been recently added to the banned list. On appeal, she was found not to have intentionally doped and was cleared of fault but was still banned for 15 months.
“Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now,” Shapovalov wrote on X. “Different rules for different players.”
Meanwhile, British player Liam Broady criticised the lack of due process, which allowed Sinner to continue playing for the past five months while the investigation was underway when typically players serve provisional suspensions.
“Whether Sinner was doping or not. This is not right," Broady wrote on X. "Plenty of players go through the same thing and have to wait months or years for their innocence to be declared. Not a good look.”
Sinner did find an ally in John Millman, with the Australian posting on social media: “Before jumping to conclusions, Jannik Sinner had less than a billionth of a gram in his system. I believe him 100 per cent ... maybe we should change threshold [to] cater for contamination."
It is Broady's point that is most worth addressing. Whether Sinner intentionally doped or not – and, without knowing all the facts, the miniscule amount of detected clostebol suggests he didn't – the Italian has been free to compete, collect ranking points, and earn money when many others have served bans in similar situations.
Between the failed tests at Indian Wells in March and the conclusion of the investigation this week, Sinner has played eight ATP tournaments, participated in the Olympic Games, won three titles, collected 4,500 ATP points, and earned almost $4.5 million. Without those points, the Italian would have slipped to world No 5 and would enter next week's US Open as the fifth seed, theoretically handing him a more challenging route to the final.
Instead, it would have been world No 2 Novak Djokovic and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz – separated by just 100 points – who would have been jostling for the top ranking ahead of the US Open. Spare a thought also for Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz, and Frances Tiafoe, who were respectively beaten in the Miami, Halle, and Cincinnati finals by Sinner, denying them trophies and precious ranking points shortly before Grand Slams.
The ATP will, of course, not want this saga to be the main focus in the lead-up to the US Open as a season that has witnessed a clear changing of the guard, centrally involving Sinner, edges towards its conclusion. However, Sinner's perceived preferential treatment has shone a renewed light on the alleged inconsistencies of the ITIA, and given the Italian's status as the world's best player, it will be an unwelcome distraction in New York.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Read more about the coronavirus
UAE%20FIXTURES
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESplintr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammad%20AlMheiri%20and%20Badr%20AlBadr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20and%20Riyadh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epayments%20%2F%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10%20employees%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%20seven-figure%20sum%20%2F%20pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eangel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
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TRAINING FOR TOKYO
A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
- Four swim sessions (14km)
- Three bike sessions (200km)
- Four run sessions (45km)
- Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
- One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
- Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
