Why Jannik Sinner's ban has divided the tennis world

Nick Kyrgios called it a "sad day for tennis"; Tim Henman said it "leaves a pretty sour taste". Last Saturday, it was announced that the world's best player, Jannik Sinner, had negotiated a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) over offences committed last March, and would be banned for just three months.

Sinner twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. He claimed the substance had entered his system accidentally, as a result of it being present in an over-the-counter spray used by his physiotherapist to treat a small wound. And last August, a tribunal cleared Sinner of any wrongdoing. But that decision was appealed by Wada, on the grounds that even if the Italian wasn't personally at fault, he was still responsible for mistakes by his team. At a hearing scheduled for April, Wada said it would seek a one-year ban. But a compromise agreement has been reached which bans Sinner until 4 May – allowing him to return for the French Open.

This outcome fits Sinner's interests so precisely as to almost seem like no punishment at all, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. Had his ban started after Wada's appeal was due to be heard, he would have missed both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. As it is, he will be able to put his feet up during the "dog days of late winter and early spring", before returning for the crucial summer tournaments.

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"He has timed it all as sweetly as one of his whiplash forehands", and that's what is angering many people, said Matthew Lambwell in The Mail on Sunday. Sinner's case, and that of women's No. 2 Iga Swiatek (who last year received a month-long ban after testing positive for a prohibited substance), contrast starkly with that of some lower-ranked players. Take Britain's Tara Moore, who in 2022 was banned after testing positive for nandrolone metabolites and Boldenone. After 19 months of tortuous wrangling, "the source was found to be contaminated meat at a local restaurant", and Moore was cleared. But "the saga evaporated her life savings and stuck her £200,000 in debt". Her career has never recovered. Sinner gets a free pass; yet when lower-ranked players face career-threatening charges, the sport does next to nothing to help.

Some action is at least on the horizon, said Charlie Eccleshare on The Athletic. The Professional Tennis Players Association recently announced plans to give all players access to pro-bono legal support. That may help players in Moore's situation, but won't do much to shift the general perception that tennis is a sport that gives "preferential treatment" to its elites. The "two-tiered resentment" this generates, and which Sinner's case has so clearly illustrated, "does not look likely to fade away any time soon".