The tennis world has been rocked by two separate doping controversies in the month of August this year. Jannik Sinner, who tested positive for Clostebol twice, ultimately avoided a ban. However, many fans expressed concerns about potential favoritism in the handling of doping allegations. Just two days after Sinner was cleared, another doping scandal emerged. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) suspended Nicolas Zanellato, a 22-year-old player from Brazil. Unlike Sinner, Zanellato has been provisionally suspended. You must be wondering why?

Zanellato, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 458 in April 2024, has been suspended after testing positive for a non-specified substance, Boldenone. Zanellato provided a urine sample during an ATP Challenger event in Ibagué, Colombia, on June 25, 2024.

Subsequent analysis revealed the presence of boldenone, an anabolic agent prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Zanellato did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for the substance. A mandatory provisional suspension was imposed on Zanellato on August 12, 2024, following the confirmation of the positive test result. Zanellato took a similar decision, like Jannik Sinner—presenting the case to an independent tribunal chair.

On August 20, 2024, Zanellato appealed the provisional suspension, blaming “contaminated steak for positive test results” and citing “similar cases of other tennis players in the recent past”. The appeal was heard by an independent tribunal chair on August 22, 2024. After considering oral arguments from Zanellato and the ITIA, the chair dismissed the appeal, finding that the evidence presented by Zanellato was insufficient for overturning the suspension.

As a result, “Zanellato is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association.”

The contrasting results of Jannik Sinner and Zanellato have reignited a heated debate about the different modes of conduct applied to the players’ cases. Moreover, with ITIA’s warning to the players of contamination through “meat,” the situation further complicated.

The ITIA’s warning to players after Nicolas Zanellato’s doping case

The ITIA has warned tennis players about the risk of contamination from meat products and advised them to either avoid consuming meat or provide documentation to support their consumption in case of a positive drug test. In a statement released by the Senior Director of Anti-Doping, Nicole Sapstead, she said,

“Meat contamination is rare, does happen. For the happening in South and Central America, wise players to try and find other sources of protein. But if they are eating meat, there is safety in numbers- eat together, try to eat similar dishes and keep receipts and photographs.”

Now, after Jannik Sinner, the tennis world is grappling with another doping saga, but hopefully, much like Sinner, Zanellato will also overcome this challenging phase of his career.