Novak Djokovic's PTPA's Executive Director slams WADA's seemingly unclear rules after Jannik Sinner's doping case appeal confusion

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has yet to announce its appeal against Jannik Sinner in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the latter's two failed drug tests in March. The lack of clarity surrounding the deadline for the appeal perturbed Ahmad Nassar, the Executive Director of Novak Djokovic's Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA).

Last month, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed that Sinner had tested positive for clostebol in March. The Italian subsequently released a statement where he claimed that his two positive tests contained "less than a billionth of a gram" of the banned anabolic steroid. The ITIA eventually determined that the World No. 1 bore "no fault or negligence" in the case, allowing him to continue his 2024 ATP Tour season campaign.

Soon after the decision, WADA promised to look into Jannik Sinner's doping case. A few weeks have passed since then, though, with the date of its appeal against the Italian still unclear. Moreover, the tennis universe is also in the dark about the deadline to appeal, as pointed out by PTPA Executive Director, Ahmad Nassar.

The American took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle earlier this week to assert that WADA's failure to decide the date of their appeal was not only unfair to other athletes, but to fans and tournament directors as well.

"So…no one is actually sure when WADA’s deadline to appeal is. So again I ask: what kind of process is this?" Nassar wrote on X. "How is it fair to athletes? And by extension, fans, commercial partners and tournaments themselves?"

WADA reportedly received a report from ITIA surrounding Jannik Sinner's two failed doping tests, following which it asked for more information. The three-week deadline to appeal will only start once the agency has full documentation in its hands.

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Jannik Sinner to play at China Open 2024 later this month

Jannik Sinner to defend his 2023 China Open title

Jannik Sinner has put together a career-best season on the ATP Tour in 2024. The highlights of the 23-year-old's season include winning the Australian Open and the US Open, rising to the No. 1 position in the men's rankings, and accumulating a 55-5 (91.7%) win/loss record in the last eight months.

Sinner will next play at the 2024 China Open, a tournament he won last year. The Italian, then ranked at No. 7, beat Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev against all odds to secure the 2023 title.

The World No. 1 has also entered the 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters next month. He has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in November, owing to his tally of 9,000 points in the Race rankings.