Elephant in the room over Wimbledon wins as Kyrgios tweet re-ignites debate

A simple Nick Kyrgios tweet has shone the spotlight on tennis’ elephant in the room in the wake of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek winning their maiden Wimbledon titles.

With Sinner overcoming Carlos Alcaraz in a major final for the first time, and Swiatek destroying Amanda Aminisova, unwanted history was made on the grass of the All England Club.

It is the first time in grand slam history that two players who have served drugs have won the same tournament.

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Something that Kyrgios pointed out in the simplest way possible by posting “*” on social media.

The “*” refers to the Australian’s view that there should be an asterisks next to Sinner and Swiatek’s names on Wimbledon’s roll of champion, as they should be serving drug bans.

The Italian and the Poles were both world No.1 when they failed doping tests last year.

Sinner was given a three-month suspension for failing two separate drug tests, while Switatek was banned for a month for her failed tests.

Sinner’s failed tests came before and after Indian Wells last March, only six weeks after winning his maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open.

The now four-time grand slam champion tested positive for the steroid clostebol, but it was determined that he had not knowingly doped, and was not at fault for the positive test.

Sinner’s defence focused on massages by physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi where clostebol had made its way into Sinner’s system after Naldi used an over-the-counter spray containing the banned substance to treat a small cut on his finger.

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It was also deemed that the amount of clostebol that showed up in Sinner’s test was not performance enhancing.

Swiatek meanwhile, tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) – commonly used to treat heart-related conditions – roughly a week before last year’s US Open.

Like Sinner, the now six-time grand slam champion was alleviated of responsibility.

It was deemed that small amounts of TMZ had contaminated medication Swiatek was taking to help for sleep and jet lag issues.

The aspect of both cases that drew the most ire from the likes of Kyrgios, however, was how the bans were negotiated and served.

In both Sinner and Swiatek’s cases, the news did not go public until they have successfully appealed.

They were also offered bans, rather than having them imposed on them.

Arguably the softest touch, however, was that neither player missed a grand slam as a result of their ban, and they seemingly were sidelined for quiet stretches of the tennis calendar.

The likes of Wimbledon champions Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep, as well as top male player Marin Cilic, were not afforded such luxuries when they were hit with doping bans.

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It is why Kyrgios challenged the sport’s “integrity” at the time of the Swiatek ban going public.

“Two world No 1s both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport,” he said. “It’s a horrible look. Tennis integrity right now – and everyone knows it but no one wants to speak about it – it’s awful.”

The optics have not sat well with players who are far more active on Tour than Kyrgios, who has led a crusade against Sinner on social media.

Novak Djokovic declared: “It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure.

“There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled.

“A majority of the players don’t feel that it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favouritism. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers.”

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Women’s world No.3 Jessica Pegula shared a similar sentiment, while three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka was more dire on social media, posting: “I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore…”

Former world No.1 and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who lost last year’s Australian Open final to Sinner, said: “I hope everyone can discuss with WADA and defend themselves like Jannik Sinner from now on.”

In an interview with Time Magazine, Serena Williams joked that she would have been “in jail” if she had failed a drugs test like Sinner.

She also added: “If I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest. I would have gotten grand slams taken away from me.”

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With those strong comments from current players and greats of the game lingering, it is why a dark cloud hovers over tennis at present.

Time may heal the wounds created by the Sinner and Swiatek drugs sagas, but as the Telegraph’s Sports Investigations Reporter Ben Rumsby put it on the eve of the men’s and women’s finals, it does not appear that that time is coming soon.

“It may well be that, one day, he and Swiatek are finally able to escape their controversial pasts, as others who have served drugs bans have before them,” Rumsby wrote.

“But when it comes to the climax of this year’s Wimbledon, those twin elephants will almost certainly be impossible to ignore.”

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