World No.1 Jannik Sinner failed two drugs tests in March (Picture: Getty)
Nick Kyrgios has trolled Jannik Sinner after an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with the Italian tennis star once again facing a possible two-year ban.
It was thought that Sinner had escaped suspension after being let off the hook by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for two failed drugs tests in March.
Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol – a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass – and was controversially cleared by a tribunal after they learned his physio applied spray to a cut on his hand before giving the player a bare-handed massage. This was said to have caused ‘contamination’, and the case was closed.
But the case is back wide open after WADA lodged an appeal against the decision to find him blameless – describing it as ‘not correct under the applicable rules’ – and a potential two-year ban is now firmly back on the cards.
WADA has officially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and said Sinner should be banned for ‘between one and two years’.
The Sinner scandal has rocked tennis to the core, and Australian bad boy Kyrgios, famed for outspoken opinions, has been one of the world No.1’s main critics.
Kyrgios has now aimed a fresh dig at Sinner amid news of the WADA appeal and posted on his Instagram story: ‘Hahaha maybe not so innocent after all eh?’
Nick Kyrgios says Jannik Sinner is ‘maybe not so innocent after all’ (Picture: Getty)
In the comments section of a Eurosport post, Kyrgios added: ‘Hahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahaha god I hope the people running this thing don’t care that he is number 1 and has money.’
Kyrgios previously told Sinner that he ‘should be gone for two years’ when it was announced that he had avoided a ban from the ITIA.
Why have Jannik Sinner’s failed drug tests been so controversial?
Many feel that Sinner, one of the new poster boys of men’s tennis, has benefited from specialist treatment, comparing his case to the likes of Simona Halep.
The world No.1 and US Open champion, though, insists: ‘I was treated like everyone else. The reason why I kept playing was because we knew exactly how it entered my system and where it was from. It was in the spray.
‘So all things considered, I haven’t had a different treatment. The process was very long. Then after it went with bigger weight because when you feel like the result is coming – you still don’t know what’s coming. It was a not easy period for me.’
Jannik Sinner ‘surprised’ as WADA launches doping appeal
Sinner says he is ‘surprised’ by WADA’s appeal against the decision to clear him of blame.
The 23-year-old said: ‘Obviously I’m very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal because we had three hearings. All three hearings came out very positively for me.
‘I knew it a couple of days ago, that they were going to appeal, that today it’s going to go official.’