Sinner was initially found to be of “no fault” by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after twice testing positive for clostebol in March 2024, successfully arguing contamination.
The ITIA handed the Italian no suspension though this ruling has now been subject to an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
WADA has appealed the severity of the Australian and US Open champion’s sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and should their appeal be successful, Sinner faces a ban of up to two years.
CAS is expected to announce its ruling in the new year.
Sinner’s case has attracted huge attention ever since the ITIA announced its ruling and debate around the issue shows no sign of slowing down.
Speaking to Marca, five-time major winner Sanchez claimed that both Sinner and the sport had “lost” its image due to the case.
However, the 59-year-old revealed his hope that Sinner would not face any further punishment.
He said: “The process has already been carried out, but WADA has imposed a different sanction for similar cases and is now entering into the process. Sinner must defend his case again.
“Nobody wants him to test positive. But the sad thing about this is that there is a tendency to think that not everyone is judged equally. Sinner has lost his image, but so has tennis.
“If it is truly proven that the amount detected has not helped to improve performance, then why are these levels maintained?
“But for me Sinner is one of the boys who has the best headspace to give a good message to the youth, he always speaks positively and he is a very good rival for Carlos because he will help him improve in consistency and intensity.
“I think he will help tennis to be better. I hope nothing happens.”
Sinner’s 2025 season will start in Melbourne, where he will look to defend the title that he won for the first time 12 months ago.
That started a dominant season for the 23-year-old, who has been ranked as the world No 1 since mid-June.
Sinner would go on to win his second Grand Slam title in New York and won eight titles across the season, including the ATP Finals and Masters 1000 triumphs in Miami, Cincinnati, and Shanghai.
He also helped guide Italy to a successful Davis Cup title defence in November, ending the season with a 73-6 record.
