Sinner and Swiatek doping rows take sheen off stellar campaign

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek enjoyed a trophy-laden 2024 but rather than ending the year basking in glory, they were instead fighting for their reputations after receiving only minor reprimands for failing dope tests.

The two cases shocked the tennis world with many fuming at how they were handled by the authorities.

Players and pundits accused those overseeing tennis’s anti-doing programme of double standards as they felt Sinner and Swiatek, who were both ranked No 1 at the time of their respective failed tests, had received preferential treatment.

Rattled by two failed drug tests in March for trace amounts of the anabolic androgenic steroid clostebol, Sinner endured sleepless nights over fears that a ban could stall his career, before being cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal that accepted his explanation of unintentional contamination.

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However, the men’s world No 1 will go into the 2025 season facing a possible ban of up to two years after the World Anti-Doping Agency lodged an appeal with sport’s highest court.

Sinner captured his first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open to split the majors with Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner also won the ATP Finals trophy before masterminding Italy’s successful Davis Cup defence.

Triumphs in Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati and Shanghai meant Sinner had more titles than his six defeats but the doping saga put an asterisk on a stunning season in which he sparked a seismic shift atop the men’s game to shut out Novak Djokovic.