“Not correct under the applicable rules,” WADA said about the ITIA ruling made in the case of Jannik Sinner. The ITIA found Sinner’s justification to be valid about how he came in contact with the banned substance, Clostebol and as a result, the Italian star escaped any grave consequences. However, WADA reopened the case and took it to the CAS, asking for a ban of 1-2 years for the 2-time Grand Slam champion. Certainly, these are nervous times for Sinner despite giving his best on the court. Amid this doping uncertainty, Sinner has found the support of Coco Gauff’s ex-coach, Brad Gilbert.

Interestingly, Gilbert is a big fan of the rivalry between Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The two faced off earlier today in Beijing where Alcaraz won a thrilling encounter in straight sets to clinch the China Open encounter. As Gilbert hopes for more clashes between the two in the future, he doesn’t want Sinner to face any further charges for his positive doping tests.

Taking to X, the legendary coach wrote, “After 20 years of amazing matches from the big 3 didn’t think 💭 it was possible this soon to have another amazing rivalry, Escape from Alcaraz vs Sin City 🌆 is the gold standard in tennis here’s to the next 10 years of these 2 with tons of great matches, hopefully Wada doesn’t mess it up.”

This isn’t the first time that Gilbert has sided with Sinner amid his doping scandal. A few days back, he posted on X, “I am completely disheveled by this Wada decision, was 8000 times smaller then a gram of salt 🧂 this now will unfortunately take months to figure out.” Interestingly, there are many cases piled up with the CAS and a date hasn’t been announced for Sinner’s case to be taken up. As a result, he faces an uncertain future. However, till the time the verdict doesn’t arrive, he will continue to compete on the tour.

Sinner’s doping case has been much talked about in the tennis world ever since the news broke out that he tested positive twice. However, he found much support after WADA took the case forward, another tennis legend dismissing WADA’s stand on this matter.

Mark Petchey on WADA ruling in the doping case of Jannik Sinner: ‘No conspiracy, no cover-up’

Earlier, WADA took over Sinner’s doping case from the ITIA and released a statement, “It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules. WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years.”

This came as a shock to not only Sinner and his team but also the tennis world, especially after the ITIA ruled against any further action on Sinner. Supporting Sinner in this regard, former British pro, Mark Petchey, also explained why Sinner shouldn’t receive any further action over the failed doping tests.

He said, “Just for the record there is ZERO scandal in the Sinner case. He and his lawyers worked within the framework of what the rules are in the situation he found himself and got a decision based on the evidence presented. No conspiracy, no cover up.”

However, the doping controversy was not on Sinner’s mind when took the court today in Beijing. The Italian star narrowly lost out to Alcaraz for the China Open title, losing in the final set tiebreaker to finish as the runner-up. Nonetheless, it has been a season to cherish for the Italian star, as he has won two Grand Slam titles in Melbourne and New York. Do you think Sinner will finish his season on a high?