Longtime tennis habitues were taken aback when news about Jannik Sinner hogged headlines last week, and with reason. He didn’t simply test positive for a banned substance, even though the development was a shocker in and of itself. He did so twice last March, and had already been cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency. In other words, the gravity of the turn of events, the timing of it being made public, and the speed with which it was resolved all contributed to the notable reaction of all and sundry.
Needless to say, reactions were all over the place. Former players, peers on tour, and even casual observers felt compelled to share their two cents’ worth on the matter. Question after question hit the grapevine. Why was Sinner let off easily? What made officials of the sport decide to keep the story to themselves? How could the case have been handled with haste? All these queries, and more, became fodder for speculation. And, certainly, the relative absence of information didn’t help.
That Sinner was in the midst of a surge to the top when his positive test results came back served to add fuel to the fire. Not a few quarters saw fit to compare his position with those of other players who faced the axe and were immediately given lengthy suspensions even prior to the launch of internal probes. To be sure, none of them were World Number Ones who brought much-needed eyeballs to competitions. If anything, the lack of a public reckoning of the facts from the powers-that-be have enabled critics to assume the worst.
Which is too bad, really, because tennis needs all the good news it can get. With Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray having all but bowed out of the scene, and with Novak Djokovic likewise slated to exit (albeit in a blaze of glory), the spotlight should be on the new blood — Sinner included. Unfortunately, it’s getting the wrong kind of attention, and all because, for grounds only its honchos know behind the scenes, it did not act with consistency. He became the exception to the rule, and in more ways than one. It deserves better at any instance, and especially now that the United States Open is just around the corner.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
