Andy Murray's ex-coach comes to Jannik Sinner's defense amid criticism after 3-month doping ban saga

Andy Murray's ex-coach Mark Petchey shared his thoughts on WADA's latest decision, siding with Jannik Sinner amid the doping ban saga. The Italian tennis star will be serving a three-month-long doping ban, as announced by the World Anti-Doping Agency (referred to as WADA hereon) on Saturday.

Petchey said that even though this case was not won by WADA, it was still a win for them. This case was bigger than Jannik or any athlete and had a deeper political symbolism. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts on this matter.

"Let’s not conveniently forget too, that the Swiatek and Sinner cases have made WADA change their rules in 2027 due to labs being so good at finding these types of micro-dosing. So if this happens in 2027, an athlete in the same situation won’t have to serve any ban." - he iterated.

Jannik Sinner accepted to serve a three-month ban after winning his case against WADA who appealed for a one to two-year ban of the player via a case resolution agreement. They also provided an explanation stating the reason for the settlement in the statement released on February 15, 2025.

"WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage," an excerpt from the statement said.

WADA has also formally withdrawn its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

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Jannik Sinner will be serving a three-month ban till 4 May 2025

Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open - Source: Getty

Jannik Sinner tested positive twice for a banned anabolic steroid named Clostebol in his system in March 2024. He had put forth his argument stating that the trace amounts of the drug detected, were due to the use of an over-the-counter treatment called Trofodermin.

He was held liable for his entourage's negligence by CAS, which was followed by his parting ways with physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi and personal trainer Umberto Ferrara last year.

The 2025 Australian Open champion has settled his case with WADA by accepting a three-month ban and will be missing four ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Madrid during his absence.

ATP has also released a statement after the press release, asking all players to be aware and mindful of the substances they come in contact with.

"This case is an important reminder of players’ responsibility to carefully manage the products and treatments they or their entourages use," an excerpt from ATP's statement.

The 23-year-old will not be missing any major tournaments and will likely resume his 2025 season with the Roland-Garros (French Open).