The PTPA’s executive director has claimed that Jannik Sinner was “treated unfairly” by an “illegal” doping program as he defended the use of the world No 1’s case in the organisation’s lawsuit.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that the PTPA was taking legal action against the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation (ITF), and International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in a wide-ranging lawsuit addressing multiple concerns.
Among the key talking points arising from the 163-page legal document was the use of Sinner’s recent doping case, with the Italian currently serving a three-month suspension.
The world No 1 twice tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol in March 2024, and was not handed a suspension after being found of “no fault or negligence” by the ITIA in August 2024.
A legal case involving the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ensued, and resulted with Sinner and WADA settling on a three-month suspension in February 2025.
The PTPA’s legal filing appeared to heavily condemn the process behind Sinner’s case, and some accused it of indirectly criticising the Italian’s lack of complaint regarding the ATP.
It read: “The ITIA proved in August 2024 that its heavy-handed approach is arbitrary and selective. That month, the ITIA announced that Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked player on the ATP Tour, had twice tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid earlier that season.
“Unlike its dogged pursuit of other players, however, it accepted Sinner’s explanation that his physical therapist had accidentally applied a banned substance to Sinner’s skin during treatment.
“As a result of its immediate acceptance, the ITIA concluded that Sinner bore ‘no fault or negligence’ for his positive test and permitted him to compete in the 2024 U.S. Open, which Sinner won.
“There was no investigation that dragged for over a year into a prominent player who had not vocalized any issues with the cartel.”
However, in an interview with Ubitennis, PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar claimed that Sinner was also a victim of a “not-fit-for-purpose” system that “must change” to benefit all players.
“I’ve been consistent and clear on Jannik’s case,” said Nassar. “He was treated unfairly by an out-of-control, illegal, and not-fit-for-purpose anti-doping program.
“At the same time, others have pointed out that he seems to have been treated less unfairly than many other players.
“The solution here is not to treat him more unfairly, in line with other players. Nor is the solution even to treat other players as unfairly as Jannik. Our solution is to treat all players fairly.
“If someone is not at fault, as adjudicated by the ITIA and WADA, how is it possible that the case still took nearly a year to be resolved, and still resulted in a three-month suspension that is still being served as we speak?
“The system is not working and must change.”
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