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Former WTA pro Naomi Broady recently illustrated a comparison between Jannik Sinner and Simona Halep's respective doping suspensions to insist that the Italian had received "preferential treatment" from tennis' governing bodies. The Brit was also at odds with how the World No. 1 had apparently negotiated the timing of his ban to come to an end just before his home tournament appearance at this week's Italian Open.
Sinner had tested positive twice for the banned substance clostebol last March. The 23-year-old only suffered from a provisional doping suspension of one week last year as the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) found him to be at "no fault or negligence" in his contamination. After defending his Australian Open title in January, he eventually accepted a three-month doping suspension from WADA from February 9 to May 4 due to the anti-doping agency's issues with the procedure initially carried out by ITIA.
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Jannik Sinner is all set to make his much-awaited comeback to the ATP Tour at the 1000-level event in Rome later this week. Against that background, former World No. 56 Naomi Broady gave her thoughts to the BBC on the fallout from the Italian's doping saga in the last year. The 35-year-old was admittedly unhappy with how the men's World No. 1 had the option to continue his 2024 campaign despite his doping case still being open.
The Brit also referenced the treatment meted out to Simona Halep when she was banned from playing competitively after taking roxadustat in September 2022. The ITIA took its time with the Romanian's case hearing in 2023 before handing her a four-year doping suspension. However, the former World No. 1 appealed her case to the Court of Arbitration (CAS) and to her good fortune, the ban was reduced to nine months, ultimately allowing her to finally get her career back on track.
"I think the issue has been that it's felt that he (Jannik Sinner) has received preferential treatment. I think that's what a lot of the players have been talking about, it's the lack of consistency," Naomi Broady told BBC earlier this week. "It's even the fact that you can come to an agreement for how long your banned [should be]... the goalpost shouldn't move if you've tested positive, that's your ban, I don't know why you should be able to negotiate."
"That to me doesn't make much sense. Even the way that he was still able to play whilst the case was ongoing, for all the other players if you test positive you sit on the sidelines and you wait. We saw that with Simona Halep, you sit on the sidelines and wait. And for some people it's years, it can take a really long time."
World No. 190 Dan Evans also echoed his compatriot's sentiments while speaking about ITIA's handling of Jannik Sinner's case to BBC.
"This is not Jannik Sinner's problem, this is a tennis problem" - Dan Evans
The 34-year-old Brit claimed that for fans who are not well versed with the intricacies of doping in tennis, it would've seemed as if Sinner did receive preferential treatment from ITIA. He also had issues with the Italian not having relinquished his World No. 1 position in spite of the debacle having loomed larged over the latter's career recently.
"The whole thing's pretty convenient, I think a lot of the players are thinking the comeback at home in Rome, massive for Italian tennis, it seems pretty convenient," Dan Evans told BBC. "And by the way, this is like Broady said, this is not Jannik's problem, this is a tennis problem. From the outside, from the public, they're looking in and probably thinking that he's had preferential treatment. The ranking at where it is as well, you know, sort of adds to that and I think it's a difficult one to sort of pick the bones out of."
Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, will face either World No. 99 Mariano Navone or Italian wildcard Federico Cina in the second round of the 2025 Italian Open this week.
