Winner Sinner
Hall of Fame
There is the date and there is the referee who completes the panel: now for Jannik Sinner begins the long wait towards April 16 and 17, the days announced by the CAS for the arbitration that will have to put an end to the Clostebol case, with the Wada appeal asking for a sentence of 1 to 2 years for the player, considered negligent in the management of his staff. A press release issued in the early Italian afternoon, while Jannik was sleeping in Melbourne and his agent and advisor Vittur was arriving from Italy. Only in the morning did the world number 1 find out. A short text: "The Court of Arbitration for Sport has scheduled the hearing for the arbitration procedure in the case between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Jannik Sinner, as decided by the independent tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), for 16 and 17 April 2025 at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Since no interested party has requested a public hearing, this will be held behind closed doors". It could take up to 48 hours for the verdict to be issued. The player has the right to request that the decision be notified immediately. Also to continue playing until the reasons are entered.
RADOUX—
There was one last piece missing to complete the panel, the president appointed by the CAS. This is Jacques Radoux, born in Luxembourg in 1969. A highly respected judge in the field, known for his great preparation and balance, but above all a tennis player, chosen for the delicacy of the case. It is necessary that those who have to decide on the career of the number 1 in the world are legally prepared, but can also understand the life of the athlete. Radoux has not had an extraordinary career at ATP level (around no. 500 in the world), and was Davis captain for the Luxembourg team from 2008 to 2013. In short, a tennis player will judge a number 1 in the world with knowledge. Certainly his career as a lawyer has given him greater satisfaction: he studied law in France, was a referee at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Radoux is also involved in social issues and has been in charge of the tennis section of Special Olympics Luxembourg since 2008
THE OTHER REFEREES —
The first two referees to be appointed by the parties were Ken Lalo, chosen by Wada, and the American Jeffrey Benz, wanted by Sinner's team. Current president of the Israeli equestrian sports federation, Lalo is 66 years old and has three children and has been part of the list of referees of the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 2011. There are no media cases about him, but he is a sports lawyer with great experience and, when it comes to prohibited substances, extremely intransigent. Jeffrey Benz, the judge chosen by the legal team of the world number 1, is American, and has been part of the list of referees of the CAS since 2000. His experience is very vast and he was the judge appointed by Simona Halep in the arbitration that saw her doping disqualification, due to a contaminated supplement, reduced from 4 years to 9 months (after having already served two). The documents have reached the arbitration panel: Jannik Sinner's legal team has submitted its documents, technically the "Answer brief", in response to the appeal brief, defined as "Appeal brief", of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
NEGLIGENCE —
Wada has accepted the player's good faith, but believes that he should have supervised his staff better. Hence, the appeal to the CAS. The player's defense will have to demonstrate, in the new trial, that Sinner was not negligent, thus eliminating the possibility of sanctions. That he did everything in his power to prevent Umberto Ferrara, the athletic trainer, from giving physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi the Clostebol-based spray with which he inadvertently contaminated the player during treatments. If the player were considered negligent, or significantly negligent, the period of ineligibility would be a minimum of one year. Sinner will appear in court in person together with his lawyers and witnesses on the days in which he was supposed to participate for the first time in the ATP 500 on the red clay of Munich. Everyone will be subjected to questioning and cross-examination. Moments that Jannik and his witnesses will have to carefully prepare in the previous days to remember what happened in March 2024 in Indian Wells, when Sinner was contaminated. The interrogations at the arbitration hearing are often extremely detailed, and with the emotion of the moment it can be easy to omit or forget some details. Jannik has already been through it: "I have had to overcome this test three times - he said after hearing the news of the Wada appeal - I am calm because I know I have done nothing wrong. I will undergo this test once again, but I can't do anything else". All that remains is to wait.
RADOUX—
There was one last piece missing to complete the panel, the president appointed by the CAS. This is Jacques Radoux, born in Luxembourg in 1969. A highly respected judge in the field, known for his great preparation and balance, but above all a tennis player, chosen for the delicacy of the case. It is necessary that those who have to decide on the career of the number 1 in the world are legally prepared, but can also understand the life of the athlete. Radoux has not had an extraordinary career at ATP level (around no. 500 in the world), and was Davis captain for the Luxembourg team from 2008 to 2013. In short, a tennis player will judge a number 1 in the world with knowledge. Certainly his career as a lawyer has given him greater satisfaction: he studied law in France, was a referee at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Radoux is also involved in social issues and has been in charge of the tennis section of Special Olympics Luxembourg since 2008
THE OTHER REFEREES —
The first two referees to be appointed by the parties were Ken Lalo, chosen by Wada, and the American Jeffrey Benz, wanted by Sinner's team. Current president of the Israeli equestrian sports federation, Lalo is 66 years old and has three children and has been part of the list of referees of the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 2011. There are no media cases about him, but he is a sports lawyer with great experience and, when it comes to prohibited substances, extremely intransigent. Jeffrey Benz, the judge chosen by the legal team of the world number 1, is American, and has been part of the list of referees of the CAS since 2000. His experience is very vast and he was the judge appointed by Simona Halep in the arbitration that saw her doping disqualification, due to a contaminated supplement, reduced from 4 years to 9 months (after having already served two). The documents have reached the arbitration panel: Jannik Sinner's legal team has submitted its documents, technically the "Answer brief", in response to the appeal brief, defined as "Appeal brief", of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
NEGLIGENCE —
Wada has accepted the player's good faith, but believes that he should have supervised his staff better. Hence, the appeal to the CAS. The player's defense will have to demonstrate, in the new trial, that Sinner was not negligent, thus eliminating the possibility of sanctions. That he did everything in his power to prevent Umberto Ferrara, the athletic trainer, from giving physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi the Clostebol-based spray with which he inadvertently contaminated the player during treatments. If the player were considered negligent, or significantly negligent, the period of ineligibility would be a minimum of one year. Sinner will appear in court in person together with his lawyers and witnesses on the days in which he was supposed to participate for the first time in the ATP 500 on the red clay of Munich. Everyone will be subjected to questioning and cross-examination. Moments that Jannik and his witnesses will have to carefully prepare in the previous days to remember what happened in March 2024 in Indian Wells, when Sinner was contaminated. The interrogations at the arbitration hearing are often extremely detailed, and with the emotion of the moment it can be easy to omit or forget some details. Jannik has already been through it: "I have had to overcome this test three times - he said after hearing the news of the Wada appeal - I am calm because I know I have done nothing wrong. I will undergo this test once again, but I can't do anything else". All that remains is to wait.
