Dennis Shapovalov of Canada has provided clarification on his remarks regarding Jannik Sinner of Italy. When he tested positive for the prohibited drug clostebol in two doping tests in 2024, the 23-year-old made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
It’s interesting to note that Sinner avoided a ban after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the player’s counsel’s explanation, according to which the substance was present in the player’s sample because the player had used a cream to treat an injury. Following the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sports’ (CAS) ruling and demand that the player be suspended for two years, the case garnered attention once more.
Some members of the tennis community criticized the ITIA’s ruling, calling for a more consistent approach to each player in these situations. Shapovalov also talked about it and said: “Some players have contaminated substances and are sanctioned for years, while others do not face the same consequences. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should have intervened immediately.”
He has since been cited in a report in which he explained his remarks and said they weren’t meant for Sinner. He added: “That was the thing with me and Italian fans now; there were so many Italian fans after me. I made a comment about the Sinner case but I didn’t comment about Sinner. To me, it had nothing to do with Sinner. It was the principle that a guy like Jarry was banned for three years or whatever it was and other guys are playing. Where is the fine lining? It should be consistent and the same for all the players. It had literally nothing to do with Sinner. I expressed how I am not WADA. I’m not here to decide whether he should be banned or not but so many Italian fans started losing it. It was insane.”
Denis Shapovalov in 2024
LWWWWWWWLW Currently ranked no.56, Shapovalov played his last match on the 20th of November when he lost to world no.43 Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 7-5 7-6(5) in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
During this season Shapovalov has managed to achieve a compiled 33-25 match record. This year, Shapovalov conquered 1 tournament in Belgrade.
Jannik Sinner in 2024
WWWWWWWWWW Ranked world no.1, Jannik played his last match on the 24th of November when he overcame world no.40 Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(2) 6-2 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
This season the Italian has managed to achieve a 73-6 record. Jannik has won 8 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, U.S. Open, Shanghai and the Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner got to the final in Beijing.
Denis Shapovalov and Jannik Sinner faced off just once. Their record is 1-0 for Shapovalov. When they played, Denis Shapovalov won 3-6 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4 in the 1st round in Melbourne (Australian Open) in February 2021.
Here are the highlights.
