Stefano Battaglino banned for four years: doping case in Italian tennis

Die Four-year ban for Italian tennis player Stefano Battaglino After testing positive for clostebol, the same anabolic steroid that was confirmed to be found in Jannik Sinner’s tests at Indian Wells in March this year, Sünder was acquitted of the doping charges, while the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Tas) in Lausanne has rejected Battaglino’s appeal against the suspension imposed by the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (Tadp) last year. Meanwhile, Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina, ranked number 13 in the world, expressed doubts not only about Sünder’s case but about the entire Italian anti-doping system in a recent statement: «My coach is Italian (Flavio Cipolla, Editor’s note:) and knows of other incidents that we do not know about. There were two other Italians, a man and a woman, who tested positive for the same substance.

Sinner, doping case remains open: Which tournaments and how many points he would lose, appeal and Tas overturn the first verdict

Sinner-Battaglino, the two cases

The case of Jannik Sinner We know him well by now: he tested positive in two tests during the ATP 1000 tournament in Indian Wells in March 2024; his defense was that the physiotherapist who treated a cut on his hand with a cream containing clostebol was massaging him without gloves during those days; the independent agency Sport Resolutions agreed with him. Now, however, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has taken over all the files of the case and has 12 days to appeal to the Tas in Lausanne.

Battaglino, who reached his highest ranking of 760th in July 2022, tested positive during a tournament in September of the same year. Following the announcement in October 2023 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (Itia) In his suspension, Battaglino claimed that the contamination was due to a massage given by the physiotherapist at a tournament in Morocco in 2022. However, the player’s lawyer could not find the professional to substantiate the defense.

The Court therefore ruled that the tennis player had not proven the source of the positive sample and that the arguments put forward for accidental ingestion were “manifestly insufficient”. Four years’ suspension for him from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2027, with the prohibition of participating in events promoted by ITIA members (ie ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, French Tennis Federation, Wimbledon and American Tennis Federation).

The words of Kasatkina

Within the different judgments of the court and the agencies that control doping in world sport, the words of Daria Kasatkina strong: “Jannik Sinner is able to hire the best lawyers, people who will solve everything. This is without a doubt his advantage.” A difference in status and class that would allow the US Open champion to avoid suspensions that instead affect tennis players of lower levels who do not have the same financial means.

A difference that goes hand in hand with knowing the possible origin of the clostebol. Knowing how one might have come into contact with clostebol helps a lot in the subsequent legal dispute. According to Kasatkina also shown in the two cases of anonymous tennis players that she knows about. The woman was unable to provide the necessary evidence to prevent the suspension, especially those relating to how she could have come into contact with the clostebol. The tennis player, on the other hand, who knew the possible origin of the positive sample, was able to provide the evidence within 24 days like Sünder and was then acquitted.

Kasatkina, who recalled that she did not mention the names of the cases she knows, then concluded by expressing doubts about the entire Italian tennis scene: “I do not understand why the same substance is found again and again in Italy. Getting caught like this is really stupid».