Federer questions ‘inconsistency’ in handling of Sinner doping case

NEW YORK — Tennis legend Roger Federer said Tuesday that anti-doping authorities have questions about the double standards being applied to men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner after he avoided a suspension earlier this year despite two positive steroid tests.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion called the drama surrounding Italian Sinner “a difficult situation” and “every athlete’s nightmare”, but said he is confident that Sinner did not intentionally use a banned substance.

During the Indian Wells tournament in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmic and dermatological purposes. Eight days later, he tested positive again in an out-of-competition sample.

He was provisionally suspended for those test results, but successfully appealed and was allowed to continue playing on the tour. In its ruling, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), an independent body established in 2021, determined that the substance was inadvertently introduced into Sinner’s system via a massage from his physiotherapist, who had applied an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to his own hand to treat a minor wound.

“It’s not something we want to see in our sport. This kind of news, regardless of whether he did something or not … It’s just noise that we don’t want,” Federer said Tuesday in an interview with NBC’s “Today” show. “I understand the frustration about whether he’s been treated the same way as others, and I think that’s what it comes down to.”

Some players reacted on social media after the news broke, wondering if Sinner had gotten lucky because he is one of the best players in the sport, while others had already been provisionally suspended for similar positive tests.

“I think we all have confidence that Jannik didn’t do anything, but the inconsistency that might be there, that he has to be offside when they’re not 100% sure of what’s going on, I think that’s the question that needs to be answered here,” Federer continued. “But it is what it is. We have to have confidence in the process and everyone involved in it.”

Federer is in New York to promote his book, a new visual biography called “Federer.” He said he will attend the U.S. Open on Tuesday night, his first return to Arthur Ashe Stadium since his retirement two years ago.

Reuters contributed to this report.