CAS upheld the disqualification of the Italian tennis player, in whose body the same substance was found as in Sinner

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on its website that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected Italian tennis player Stefano Battaglino’s appeal against a four-year ban for violating anti-doping rules.

Battaglino, who has not been ranked higher than 760 in the world, tested positive for the banned substance clostebol and its metabolites during competition in September 2022. CAS ruled that the tennis player’s arguments were “manifestly insufficient” to prove that the anti-doping rule violation was unintentional.

The period of disqualification of the 26-year-old Battaglino starts on February 1, 2023. He is prohibited from playing or attending any tennis event sanctioned or approved by members of the ITIA or any national association.

In August, ITIA reported that Battaglino’s compatriot, world number one Jannik Sinner, passed two positive doping tests for clostebol in March. Sinner avoided disqualification because he proved that the prohibited substance entered his body accidentally. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has requested additional information on this case and does not rule out that it may appeal the ITIA decision to CAS.

• WADA requests additional information on Sinner’s doping case
• WADA did not challenge the decision on the doping case of tennis player Sinner in CAS – media