At the 2024 US Open, Jannik Sinner’s doping case is still one of the most talked about topics. Despite the player being cleared of any wrongdoing, Nick Kyrgios, currently as a commentator for ESPN, continues to question tennis authorities’ treatment of the case.
“I think he had it on his own terms for most of the time. I don’t think that’s fair and equal for the rest of the tours,” Kyrgios expressed while commenting on August 26. He even added that he wasn’t going to be “as hospitable” with Sinner as he was before.
Now, the Australian, who hasn’t played professionally since 2023, has doubled down on his comments by responding to an opinion piece published in El País newspaper by Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, in which he defends Sinner.
Kyrgios calls Nadal’s stance on Sinner case “ridiculous”
In his column for El Pais, Toni Nadal weighed in on the Sinner saga and called out players “who have taken a stand against him,” as is clear to him that the Italian player “does not want to commit any infraction, and even more so, not to seek any advantage through the use of prohibited substances.”
“It leaves me very perplexed how some of the press, instead of criticizing the excessive sanctions of other occasions, now demands a similar punishment for the world No 1,” Nadal wrote. He also said that suspending Sinner, who lost ATP points and prize money, “would be absolutely disproportionate.”
To this, Kyrgios responded to a post sharing Nadal’s quote on X, writing: “If this was me do you think Toni Nadal would come out and defend me? Players know that I ain’t about cheating. Ridiculous.”
Kyrgios questioned why Sinner’s physiotherapist wasn’t dismissed after the failed doping tests were discovered. “I’m just wondering as to why they waited five months to fire the physio? If they knew about it so early on,” he said.
Sinner was declared innocent by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), as it concluded he was “accidentally” contaminated with low levels of clostebol in March, while he played Indian Wells.
The ITIA concluded that the positive test was due to an error by Sinner’s physiotherapist, Giacomo Nadi, who unknowingly used a product containing the banned substance. In light of the controversy, Sinner parted ways with Naldi and fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara.
Sinner was stripped of the 400 ranking points he earned at Indian Wells, where he had reached the semi-finals. Additionally, he forfeited the $325,000 prize money he had won at the tournament.