Jannik Sinner's three-month suspension following two positive drug tests has been defended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) amid criticism that the punishment was too lenient.
The Italian tennis star's doping ordeal concluded on Saturday after he agreed to the ban, acknowledging "partial responsibility" for team mistakes that led to his positive tests for clostebol traces in March of the previous year.
Sinner had faced a potential two-year suspension after WADA appealed his initial exoneration by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
However, WADA later withdrew its appeal, reaching a settlement with Sinner over the three-month ban, following the conclusion that the 23-year-old had been unintentionally contaminated by his physiotherapist.
Sinner was being treated for a cut on his hand with an over-the-counter spray, which was later found to contain the banned substance. He said he "did not intend to cheat."
The sanction has been questioned and criticized by current and former players, including Novak Djokovic.
However, WADA's general counsel, Ross Wenzel, believes the sanction level was "in the right place" for what had occurred.
"This was a case that was a million miles away from doping," he told BBC Sport on Tuesday.
"The scientific feedback that we received was that this could not be a case of intentional doping, including microdosing.
"WADA has received messages from those who consider the sanction too high and, in some respects, if you have some saying this is unfair on the athlete and others saying it's not enough, maybe it's an indication that, although it's not going to be popular with everyone, it was in the right place.
"When we look at these cases, we try to look at them technically, operationally, and we don't do it with fear of what the public, politicians or anyone else is going to say."
In another high-profile case last year, five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month ban after testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine.
In contrast, the recently retired Simona Halep, a former world number one, was handed a four-year ban by the ITIA in 2022 after testing positive for the blood-boosting drug roxadustat. She argued it was the result of a tainted supplement and successfully appealed to CAS, which reduced her suspension to nine months.
Speaking at the Qatar Open on Monday, 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said many players were unhappy with the way the cases had been handled.
"There's a majority of the players that I've talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also in the last few months, who are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled," the former world number one said.
"A majority of the players don't feel that it's fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favoritism happening.
"It seems like, it appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player if you have access to the top lawyers."
Sinner's suspension runs from February 9 to May 4, leaving him clear to play in the rest of this year's Grand Slams, starting with the French Open.
He has not played competitively since defeating Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final in January.
"Once you've reached an agreement, what you can't do is then say, 'Oh, but we're going to have this apply from two months in the future for a period of three months,'" Wenzel said.
"It must come into effect quickly. Of course, once the deal is done, it's important that it is executed and made public for reasons of transparency.
"The sanctions that we impose, and the code even says this, they're blind to the calendar."
