18-year-old American's appeal rejected after testing positive for same substance as Jannik Sinner, sparks fan outrage

American tennis player Jessica Eudovic was suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for clostebol, the same substance for which Jannik Sinner also tested positive last year.

Eudovic's A and B samples from a match at an ITF World Tour event in El Salvador in October contained a metabolite of clostebol, which is a prohibited substance under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme. The American appealed on December 1 against the suspension. However, on Dec. 16, her appeal was rejected by Dr. Tanja Haug, who chaired the tribunal.

This is unlike what happened in the case of Sinner. The Italian World No. 2 was also tested positive for the same substance in March 2024. Sinner clarified that he didn't apply the substance intentionally and shared that his physical trainer applied it while massaging his body. After a lengthy process, the Italian accepted a three-month ban as part of the settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.

WADA said that Sinner didn't intend to cheat and the small amount of clostebol found couldn't have enhanced the performance drastically. Even though Sinner found the decision "unfair" and called accepting the three-month suspension "the lesser evil."

Fans blame ATP for Jannik Sinner getting cleared while Jessica Eudovic couldn't

The two different measures taken by the men's and women's tennis bodies for the application of the same substance have ignited a firestorm among fans, with some blaming the ATP for doing a favor to Jannik Sinner.

"It became increasingly clear that the ATP covered up Sinner's doping case," one fan commented. "But they believed Sinners physio pinky finger massage story with the Clostebol coming from the guy that is in charge of his anti doping controls?" another fan questioned. "The more cases like this we see, the more obvious it becomes that Sinner was allowed to dope. Now that we need more evidence, of course. 🤣" one fan wrote. "It's always a player nobody heard of. It is possible they are framing phantom players with these positive tests?" one fan asked. "Sinner defenders were telling us that Sinner's case was to be the "blueprint" for more leniency in doping lol! But players are still getting railroaded ....And many with far more plausible explanations than Sinner's," one fan added.

Sinner has won several major titles in the last two years. He won two Grand Slams in 2025, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Meanwhile, last year, he won the Australian Open and the US Open. However, his accomplishments continue to be tainted because of the doping controversy.

Edited by Krutik Jain