Tennis faces a new crisis of perception despite following its own rules on integrity. The two-tiered resentment is not going to fade away.

The World Anti-Doping Agency offered an explanation for why top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner received a much shorter doping ban than the six-year suspension it handed to a Spanish figure skater in a similar doping case.

Sinner failed two dope tests, testing positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol, in March last year but was found “to bear no fault or negligence” by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and escaped a ban after successfully appealing his case of accidental contamination.