CAS, the Lausanne Court of Arbitration for Sport, announced with an official statement published on the evening of Friday 4 October the start of proceedings relating to Jannik Sinner’s doping issue, following WADA appeal against the acquittal of the Italian tennis player, who was not disqualified after the two positive Clostebol tests last March.
“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered the statement of appeal filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued by the independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of 19 August 2024 in which it was established that the Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner had committed two anti-doping rule violations for which he had no fault or negligence (presence of Clostebol metabolites, a steroid and a prohibited substance), and for which he was not imposed any period of ineligibility,” we can read in the press release.
The player, the ITIA and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) were informed of the CAS appeal. In its appeal to the CAS, WADA requests the annulment of the contested decision and a new decision establishing that Jannik Sinner committed two anti-doping rule violations without the application of Article 10.5 TADP, which means no fault or negligence.
WADA requests CAS to impose a sanction on Sinner of a period of Ineligibility of between one and two years and to uphold the ineligibility of all competitive results obtained by Jannik Sinner during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells/USA.
The statement states that the arbitration proceedings at CAS have begun. In accordance with the Code of Arbitration for Sport, the arbitration rules governing CAS proceedings, the parties exchange written submissions and an arbitration panel is constituted to decide the matter.
Once constituted, the panel will issue procedural directions for the next phase of the proceedings, including the conduct of the hearing. At the end of the hearing, the panel will deliberate and issue an arbitration award containing its decision and the reasons for it.
“At this time, it is not possible to specify a time frame for the issuance of the decision. The decision of the CAS Panel will be final and binding, with the exception of the right of the parties to appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court within 30 days for limited reasons,” CAS communicates.