Tennis world number one Jannik Sinner said he was “disappointed and surprised” on Saturday after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed over his steroid case.
“We cannot control everything. Obviously I’m very disappointed and also surprised,” he told reporters at the China Open, having been cleared in August of wrongdoing.
“We had three hearings. All three hearings came out very positively for me.”
WADA made the announcement on Saturday but appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Italian Sinner said he knew “a couple of days ago” about the appeal.
“Maybe they just want to make sure that everything is in the right position. Yeah, I’m just surprised that they appealed.”
The 23-year-old Sinner, who recently won the US Open for his second Grand Slam title and is currently in action in Beijing, has denied doping.
Last month, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said that Sinner had been cleared of any wrongdoing after twice testing positive earlier in the season.
The ITIA accepted his explanation that the drug entered his system when his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.
WADA said in its statement that it lodged an appeal to CAS, the top court in sport, on Thursday.
“It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules,” it said.
It added: “WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance.
“As this matter is now pending before CAS, WADA will make no further comment at this time.”
Clostebol is an anabolic agent prohibited at all times by WADA.
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