This time, Toni Nadal has been the target of Nick Kyrgios’ criticism regarding his strong opinions on the Jannik Sinner doping case. The Australian tennis player attacked Rafael Nadal’s uncle, saying he would not have the same viewpoint if it had been the 2022 Wimbledon finalist who tested positive for a prohibited substance.
Former world No. 13 Kyrgios has been one of the most vocal players on the Sinner issue since last Tuesday. He repeatedly stated that it was an exemplary case of double standards and demanded a two-year ban right away.
Not only did Kyrgios take a strong stance on the matter—Denis Shapovalov also expressed his disapproval of the system, saying that “different rules apply to different players”—but a good number of other ATP players have also stood up for the Italian world No. 1.
Speaking about the case for a Spanish media, Uncle Toni stated that, in his opinion, Sinner is a completely clean athlete and that the only way a banned substance entered his body was as a result of an error made by his team when they gave him a product that turned out to be contaminated.
“It is very evident to me that the Italian player wants to avoid any violations and, more importantly, does not want to use illegal substances to gain any kind of advantage. I have enough familiarity with the player to state categorically that he is among the most upright and polite men on the tour. I find it inconceivable that he could behave unfairly. Toni Nadal wrote for El Pais, “There was an issue within his team that he paid for quite dearly with the financial penalty and the loss of ATP points.”
“I find it quite puzzling that certain members of the press are calling for the world’s top dog to get a similar punishment, rather than condemning the harsh penalties imposed on previous occasions. That certain people constantly assert their right to free speech and pass judgment before fully understanding the facts of a situation is not unexpected. The fact that other tennis players on the circuit have spoken out against him truly astounds me even more.”
