Retired tennis legend Roger Federer weighed in on the controversy surrounding Jannik Sinner as the top-ranked tennis player in the world competes for a U.S. Open title after having twice tested positive for a banned substance earlier this year.
“It’s not something we want to see in our sport, these types of news, regardless if he did something or not, or any player did,” Federer told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY on Sept. 3. “It’s just noise that we don’t want.”
Sinner was not suspended after twice testing positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol in March. An inquiry by the International Tennis Integrity Agency found the 23-year-old Italian star ingested the substance accidentally.
“I understand it’s a tricky situation,” said Federer, who won 20 Grand Slam titles in his career. “It’s the nightmare of every athlete and team to have these allegations and these problems because we fill out these forms all day every day.
“And it lives with you. Every morning when you wake up, you think, ‘Is somebody at the door coming to test me?’ So it’s really difficult.”
The decision to not suspend Sinner has drawn criticism from tennis fans saying he received preferential treatment considering other players in the past have been suspended until they were found innocent of using any banned substances.
Sinner won the Miami Open in March and then the Cincinnati Open in August after testing positive.
“I understand the frustration of, ‘Has he been treated the same as others?'” Federer said. “And I think this is where it comes down to.”
The ITIA ruled on Aug. 20 that Sinner bears “no fault or negligence” for testing positive, according to a news release. After each positive test, Sinner successfully appealed a provisional suspension so he was allowed to keep playing, ITIA officials said.
Sinner told the ITIA that the clostebol in his system came from contamination by a member of his support team who had been providing massages and sports therapy.
The tennis player said the support team member had a small wound and was using an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to treat it. The team member then unknowingly contaminated Sinner through Sinner’s skin via the massages and therapy.
Scientific experts concluded that Sinner’s explanation was “credible,” according to the ITIA.
“I think we all trust pretty much that Jannik didn’t do anything, but the inconsistency potentially that he didn’t have to sit out while they weren’t 100 percent sure what was going on, I think that’s the question here that needs to be answered,” Federer said. “But look, it is what it is, and we need to trust the process as well of anyone involved here.”
Sinner is the No. 1 seed and has reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, where he will play fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev on Sept. 4. Sinner beat Medvedev in January to win the Australian Open for his first Grand Slam title.