A prominent journalist labeled the punishment Jannik Sinner received for “doping” allegations a “joke.”
Piers Morgan has taken several swipes at the world’s number-one ranked tennis player on his X page. He’s not alone, as the accusations continue to get life on social media whenever Sinner excels on the court, which has been a lot in 2025.
“A ‘settlement’? I didn’t realise drug offence punishments in sport could be negotiated… what a joke,” Morgan wrote on X when it was announced that Sinner would only serve a three-month suspension that would allow him to play in the major tournaments in 2025, including the U.S. Open.
Sinner is squaring off at the U.S. Open against Carlos Alcaraz in the Sept. 7 men’s final. He is the incoming champion, but that didn’t sit well with Morgan.
Piers Morgan Attached an Asterisk to the Statement That Jannik Sinner Won the U.S. Open Last Year
A ‘settlement’ ? I didn’t realise drug offence punishments in sport could be negotiated… what a joke. https://t.co/PlTu9puVqP
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 15, 2025
In 2024, when Sinner won the U.S. Open, Morgan also took a swipe at him on X. He shared a post touting Sinner by U.S. Open Tennis, which blared that Sinner was the U.S. Open winner.
Morgan attached an asterisk to that statement, writing, “*after failing TWO drugs tests. (Fixed it for you).”
*after failing TWO drugs tests.
(Fixed it for you) https://t.co/wHVicIPeGb— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 8, 2024
Morgan is not the only person who has raised concerns about Sinner’s punishment. According to Time, tennis legend Serena Williams indicated that she “was surprised by the three-month suspension he was given for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance a year ago.”
Jannik Sinner Denied Intentionally Doping, But Favoritism Concerns Remained
According to Time, Sinner denied intentionally doping, saying that “a physio inadvertently gave him the substance,” and The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted that explanation, finding that “the amount was so small that it didn’t give him a competitive advantage.”
All the same, the World Anti-Doping Agency wanted Sinner banned from tennis for a year, but a settlement in February 2025 saw him with the short suspension that meant he would not miss a Grand Slam, Time reported. And that has sparked concerns about favoritism.
The New York Times reported that, in March 2024, Sinner “twice tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid.” But the International Tennis Integrity Agency found that Sinner “bore no fault or negligence for those positive tests,” The Times reported.
According to ESPN, the drug “is often used for ophthalmological and dermatological treatments.”
Sinner blamed his physiotherapist.
He said that the chemical entered his body “as a result of a massage from his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, who had been applying over-the-counter spray Trofodermin, containing clostebol, to his own skin to treat a small wound,” ESPN reported, adding that “three scientific experts accepted the world No. 1’s claim and found it was a credible explanation.”
