"Perhaps Jannik Sinner wasn’t trying to cheat" - Journalist who uncovered Lance Armstong's doping scandal gives his verdict on World No. 1's ban

Jannik Sinner's doping ban drew attention of David Walsh, the journalist who is known for exposing former American cyclist Lance Armstrong's doping case. He shared his opinions on the tennis star's three-month suspension that was ruled by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which will prohibit him from the game until May of this year.

Walsh's journalism played a key role in stripping Armstrong of all of his Tour de France titles in 2012. It was added with his lifetime ban from the cycling world after he openly admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2013.

When it came to the current World No. 1, Walsh expressed his skepticism on such an 'overtly neat story [of doping]' coming to an end with a 'neat' suspension order. In his column in The Sunday Times published on 15th February, 2025, he weighed in on Jannik Sinner's matter and wrote:

"Perhaps [Jannik] Sinner wasn’t trying to cheat, but I feel even more certain that when it comes to doping, tennis players are not treated equally," Walsh wrote.

He also was critical in his opinions on the 'Sinner narrative' and felt it was framed to explain their points quite conveniently, highlighting the 'mistake' of his physiotherapist:

"How could [Giacomo] Naldi not have picked up on the clostebol warning? It was explained to the independent tribunal that the poor physio had arrived in California later than the others and was still jet-lagged. Besides, he was dealing with personal issues that may have lessened his focus.”

The doping ban saga even led the 2025 Australian Open champion getting his Laureus award nomination revoked.

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Jannik Sinner's nomination revoked by Laureus World Sports Academy

Jannik Sinner faces big blow from Laureus due to his ban - Source: Getty

Jannik Sinner's doping ban led to Laureus withdrawing his nomination for the Sportsman of the Year award in 2025. The Italian had been nominated for this illustrious award after a stellar 2024 season with two Grand Slam title wins.

Even though the nominations for this year's award weren't formally released by the organisation, their chairman Sean Fitzpatrick released a statement breaking the news to the public on 27th February 2025.

“We have followed this case, the decisions of the relevant global bodies and - whilst we note the extenuating circumstances involved - feel that the three-month ban renders the nomination ineligible. Jannik and his team have been informed.” (excerpt of the statement)

The official nomination of the award will be released on Monday, March 3.