Are there 'different approaches' to tennis doping cases?

Grand Slam winners Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner person precocious tested affirmative for banned substances.

Their cases person led to questions complete the measurement anti-doping cases are handled and whether players are treated differently.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep and British doubles subordinate Tara Moore have, successful caller years, spent important clip retired of action waiting for doping cases to beryllium heard.

They were captious of the clip taken to perceive their cases compared to those of Sinner and Swiatek, pinch Halep saying location were "completely different approaches".

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which handles doping cases, has strenuously denied immoderate differences successful the measurement players are treated.

BBC Sport looks astatine the differences and similarities betwixt the 4 cases.

All 4 players person maintained they did not knowingly return a banned substance.

Moore's is the longest-standing lawsuit of the four, and she has spoken astir the financial and affectional toll.

It is not uncommon for cases to return respective months to beryllium resolved, peculiarly erstwhile a subordinate denies knowingly taking a substance.

In specified cases, they tin nutrient grounds to disprove aliases mitigate the grounded test. That would punctual further investigation and testing by the ITIA - extending the process.

In Halep's case, she could not instantly supply grounds arsenic to why she had tested positive.

Hers was a analyzable case - the original written reasons from the tribunal spanned 126 pages.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) sheet wished Halep's anti-doping violations were not intentional - but she was recovered to carnivore "some level of responsibility aliases negligence" for not exercising capable attraction complete which supplements she took.

Moore slipped 600 places successful the world rankings during her lawsuit and, arsenic players serving a doping suspension cannot participate charismatic tennis facilities, yet earned money by coaching beginners connected nationalist courts successful the US.

Moore told The Times successful July, external she believes the full costs of the lawsuit will beryllium £200,000, and she has crowdfunded to screen her training and ongoing fees.

Her case, too, was complex.

Twenty 1 players were tested successful Bogota, and Moore was 1 of 3 to return an adverse analytical uncovering for boldenone - thing the independent experts described arsenic "striking" because of really different it was.

The sheet ruled contaminated nutrient was the root of Moore's grounded test. The written reasons show really difficult it was for Moore to beryllium erstwhile and wherever she had ingested the contaminated meat. She had eaten nutrient successful different restaurants successful Bogota 7 days earlier the affirmative test, truthful it was difficult to pin down the source.

Moore did supply grounds showing cattle are administered pinch nandrolone metabolites and boldenone successful Colombia, which the tribunal described arsenic "interesting and powerful".

The ITIA, however, based on that moreover if Moore had eaten contaminated meat, she should person been alert of the risk.

The tribunal "firmly rejected" that, by eating meat, Moore had acted pinch responsibility aliases negligence. It added players had received nary warnings astir the risks, and nary were fixed until "well after" this event.

There are immoderate cardinal differences successful Swiatek and Sinner's cases.

Both were fixed provisional bans aft testing positive, successful accordance pinch ITIA rules.

Both appealed wrong 10 days of being informed, meaning the process is confidential - and remains truthful if the entreaty is successful. Once cases person been to tribunals, the outcomes are made public., external

Swiatek was fixed her prohibition connected 12 September and appealed against it connected 22 September. Three days later, the ITIA responded, saying that based connected the grounds disposable astatine that stage, the prohibition would not beryllium lifted.

The pursuing day, conscionable earlier news of Swiatek's suspension was to beryllium made public, her squad wrote to the ITIA to opportunity they had identified a contaminated melatonin tablet.

They were asked to nonstop packets of each products she had been utilizing earlier the trial to a laboratory successful Salt Lake City. The laboratory recovered the melatonin tablets - a non-prescription medicine utilized to thief slumber - were contaminated pinch TMZ during manufacture.

Swiatek's provisional suspension was lifted connected 4 October. She received a general complaint missive connected 11 October, accepted successful a missive connected 23 October that TMZ was coming successful her sample, and subsequently accepted a one-month suspension.

The 23 days covered by Swiatek's provisional suspension from 12 September to 4 October counted towards the one-month ban, meaning she had 8 days still to service erstwhile the prohibition was publically announced connected 28 November.

She missed 3 tournaments while nether the provisional suspension, but was capable to play astatine the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup because they took spot aft it was lifted.

Sinner's lawyers moved moreover quicker. They revenge an entreaty connected the aforesaid time they were informed of the affirmative tests.

He doubly tested affirmative for clostebol truthful was fixed 2 provisional bans, which he successfully appealed against and had lifted wrong 1 and 3 days respectively.

Sinner was capable to quickly supply grounds to support his lawsuit that he had been inadvertently contaminated pinch clostebol.

Speaking astir the cases connected Thursday, ITIA main executive Karen Moorhouse said:, external "These aren't cases of intentional doping. We're dealing pinch inadvertent breaches of the rules.

"So I don't deliberation this is simply a origin for interest for tennis fans. We're being intelligibly open, transparent, and it shows the breadth and extent of our anti-doping programme."

Moorehouse, speaking successful October, said: "The measurement we negociate cases does not change, irrespective of the floor plan of the subordinate involved.

"The measurement a lawsuit unfolds is wished by its unsocial circumstances, facts and science."

There are 2 caller cases during which players person tested affirmative for the aforesaid substances arsenic Sinner and Swiatek, pinch different outcomes.

Italy's Stefano Battaglino, who has a career-high ranking of 760, tested affirmative for clostebol successful September 2022. Fourteen months later, he was fixed a four-year ban.

Similarly to Sinner, Battaglino said the clostebol was successful a pick applied to him by a tourney physiotherapist during a mid-match aesculapian timeout.

Sinner said he had been contaminated by his physio, who had applied a spray containing clostebol to a trim connected his ain manus earlier treating Sinner. Because Sinner employed him, he was capable to quickly interaction him and place the merchandise that contained the substance.

Battaglino, by contrast, could not get successful interaction pinch the physio and truthful had nary beingness grounds to thief backmost him up. The independent tribunal recovered him "generally credible" but location was not capable technological and actual grounds to person them it was not intentional.

His entreaty to Cas was besides unsuccessful., external His prohibition will extremity connected 31 January 2027.

Czech teen Nikola Bartunkova was fixed a six-month suspension aft testing affirmative for trimetazidine successful February.

Like Swiatek, she was capable to beryllium it was done contamination - successful this lawsuit a supplement. Her provisional suspension covered the magnitude of her ban, and Bartunkova was capable to return to playing immediately.

The prohibition was mentioned successful the written judgement for Swiatek's case. It states Swiatek's prohibition was shorter because her usurpation was from a contaminated medication, compared to a supplement successful Barunkova's case, and Swiatek "reasonably perceived a little grade of consequence of contamination owed to the higher regulatory standards for medicines successful the European Union (as compared to supplements)".

The ITIA told BBC Sport successful November that "no 2 cases are the same".

"They often impact different circumstances, and nonstop comparisons are not ever helpful," it said.

The ITIA tests players connected behalf of the ATP, WTA, ITF and the 4 Grand Slams. Its third-quarter update, released successful October, stated it conducted tests successful 51 countries, external, testing players astatine various levels.

Roxadustat is utilized medically to dainty anaemia - an robust deficiency which tin origin fatigue. It increases the number of reddish humor cells successful the assemblage and haemoglobin - a macromolecule that carries oxygen - recovered successful those cells. Having much oxygen successful your assemblage helps amended endurance and recovery.

Boldenone is an anabolic steroid that tin summation musculus wide growth.

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid utilized to dainty anemia and osteoporosis - a illness from which bones go fragile.

Clostebol is a steroid that tin beryllium utilized to build musculus mass.

Trimetazidine is a medicine usually taken to dainty heart-related conditions.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency is an independent agency that assumes work for the anti-doping programme.

The World Anti-Doping Agency co-ordinates anti-doping rules and policies crossed sports and countries.