Roger Federer believes questions need to be asked about Jannik Sinner’s doping case. The Swiss says the question is whether the world number one should have been allowed to continue playing pending the end of the investigation into whether he intentionally used a doping agent when he tested positive twice in March.
It’s not something we want to see in our sport, that type of news, regardless of what happened and who it happened to. I understand the frustration about the doubts about whether he was treated like everyone else. And I think that’s the point. At the end of the day, we all trust that he didn’t do it on purpose. But the potential inconsistency of him not having to wait on the sidelines while he wasn’t 100 percent sure what was going on, I think that deserves some answers,” Federer said Tuesday during an appearance on the show Today to promote a photo album in his honor.
Several players have been asked about Sinner’s situation, as he faces Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal told Spanish television on Monday that he did not believe Sinner received preferential treatment.
The international tennis integrity agency said on Aug. 20 that it had determined that the banned substance entered Sinner’s system involuntarily while he was receiving a massage from a physiotherapist and that is why the player was not suspended.
Asked about this in New York before the start of the US Open, Novak Djokovic said he understood why some players wondered if there was a double standard in tennis.
“It’s a delicate situation and it’s the nightmare of every athlete and their team to have to deal with these allegations and these issues,” Federer said. “You have to trust the system that’s in place and the people involved.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was in the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night to watch the U.S. Open, his first appearance at the prestigious stadium since hanging up his racquet in 2022.
