"I trust that Jannik Sinner wasn't purposely doing anything, I just think it should be consistent": Taylor Fritz weighs in on Italian evading drug ban
In light of Jannik Sinner avoiding a suspension despite failing two drug tests, Taylor Fritz has urged consistency in the way doping bans are enforced. The American also put his faith in the ITIA's (International Tennis Integrity Agency) investigation, trusting that Sinner had not doped intentionally.
Ahead of the 2024 US Open, the tennis discourse has been dominated by the news of Sinner failing two drug tests in March. Despite testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid Costebol, the World No. 1 was permitted to continue competing on tour after successfully appealing his provisional suspension.
Subsequently, the 23-year-old was cleared of any wrongdoing, with an independent tribunal concluding that the contamination was accidental, caused by his former physiotherapist.
Addressing the controversy during his pre-tournament press conference at the US Open, Taylor Fritz asserted that all opinions on the issue are "irrelevant," since only Jannik Sinner and his team know the truth of the situation. Nevertheless, the American expressed confidence in the integrity of the investigative process.
"I mean, it's tough to say. You know, everyone is going to have, I guess, their own -- everyone is going to have their own opinion, but it's pretty irrelevant at the end of the day, because the truth of the matter is always going to be between him and his team. You know, I trust that whoever, like, the whole investigative process was done properly," Taylor Fritz said.
However, the World No. 12 pointed out that players can receive bans simply for missing three random drug tests.
"I think the only thing I will say is I think there's a lot of people that get suspended and can't play for a while because they either missed their tests, like the random testing -- which, by the way, whatever someone might tell you, like, it's not that hard to miss a test or two," he said.
"So people get banned off missing three of those. It's kind of hard to miss a third one. You should probably lock it down once you get two strikes. But there's crazy situations where that happens," he added.
Although Taylor Fritz expressed trust in the ruling that allowed Sinner to avoid a suspension, he highlighted that players often get banned for "unfortunate reasons" and emphasized the need for consistency in the application of doping bans.
"I think a lot of people get banned for unfortunate reasons. I guess in this ruling they found that it's different and there's no ban, and I trust that he wasn't, you know, at fault or purposely doing anything," Taylor Fritz said.
"I just think that it should be consistent across the board with bans and who gets banned, who doesn't get banned, who gets suspended, who doesn't get suspended," he added.
Taylor Fritz "feeling confident" ahead of 1R clash against Camilo Ugo Carabelli at US Open 2024
During the same press conference, Taylor Fritz reflected on his quarterfinal finish at last year's US Open, taking satisfaction in making it to the final eight of this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon since then.
"Yeah, it was my first slam, I guess, quarterfinal here. I mean, it's just a good feeling. I think last year I was coming in here, just felt like I just needed a result at a slam, because the slam results were just really poor last year," Taylor Fritz said.
"So I felt like I needed a good result. This year, the slam results have been pretty solid. I feel like I've been performing well at the slams, playing three-out-of-five sets," he added.
Fritz also expressed confidence regarding his performance at Grand Slam events ahead of his opening match at the New York Major.
"I'm feeling good, I'm feeling, I guess, pretty confident about just, I guess, I don't know, playing in the big tournaments right now," he said.
Taylor Fritz will kick off his campaign at his home Slam against Camilo Ugo Carabelli. If the American triumphs over Carabelli, he will take on the winner of the match between Matteo Berrettini and Albert Ramos Vinolas in the second round.