World No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner tested positive twice for the anabolic steroid clostebol metabolite during the Indian Wells tournament and in an out-of-competition sample.

Despite the positive tests, an independent tribunal cleared Sinner to continue participating after he successfully appealed the provisional suspension, attributing the contamination to an over-the-counter spray used by his team member.

Sinner did lose ranking points and prize money from the Indian Wells tournament due to the failed tests.

The ITIA kept Sinner's case confidential for five months after the doping incidents, raising controversy for the delayed revelation involving the top-ranked player.

Fellow players criticized the inconsistencies in handling the case and questioned the fairness of anti-doping regulations and penalties in professional tennis.

The ruling on Sinner's case may face appeals from anti-doping agencies.

WADA and the Italian Anti-Doping Agency have the option to appeal the decision.

Despite the controversy, Sinner remains the top seed at the upcoming U.S. Open after winning the Cincinnati Open and is among the favorites to win the tournament, along with Djokovic and Alcaraz.

Sources: Reuters, New York Times, Independent, Newsweek, NBC News, Forbes, BBC, New York Post, Fox News, Spiegel, South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera, The Hindu, Zocalo, Times of India, fmImpacto, Asharq Al-Awsat, Republic World

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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"Federer: Twelve Final Days" is an intimate behind-the-scenes look at Roger Federer's emotional final 12 days leading up to his retirement from professional tennis. The documentary film covers the time from his retirement announcement to his final match at the 2022 Laver Cup. It premiered at the Tribeca Festival and is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

It chronicles Federer's retirement announcement, emotional final match with Nadal, and bond with both Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

It covers the end of an era marked by the "Big Three's" dominance and their transformation from young talents to family men without losing skill, bringing unprecedented fan passion.

While effectively using archival footage, the film misses opportunities to explore Federer's less favorable traits, and lacks depth and drama for broader appeal, leaving parts of his story untouched.

It features behind-the-scenes footage by Joe Sabia and interviews with Federer, family, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray discussing Federer's impact.

Federer's last match has a somber atmosphere, with the "enemy" being injury not players, focusing on emotional moments in the locker room but lacking tennis analysis.

The documentary succeeds as a limited Federer portrait but may leave viewers wanting more of his other side, like a Dartmouth speech where he said "perfection is impossible."

The documentary project was suggested by Anna Wintour, and Kapadia aimed to explore the impact of age and retirement.

Sources: The New York Times, Financial Times, The Indian Express, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Times Now, High on Films, Firstpost, The Telegraph, Celebs Net, Exbulletin, Variety, Empire Online.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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They are young Israeli men and women, each with relatively bright futures in their respective sporting fields of cycling and tennis. In the pursuit of their dreams, the thing they lack the most is ample opportunity to prove themselves on the international stage. However, they may have broken an unofficial rule on Thursday, Yom Kippur, by opting to compete in various tournaments across the globe on the holiest day in Judaism.

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Cyclist Itamar Reinhorn, who rides for UCI WorldTeam Israel Start-Up Nation, took part on Wednesday and Thursday in the opening stage of the Tour of Slovakia and even managed to finish a respectable sixth. Yuval Ben Moshe, who rides for team Israel Cycling Academy, will also compete in stage two of the event, which begins Friday evening, Israel time.

Tennis players Nicole Khirin, Shavit Kimchi and Sahar Simon competed in the futures tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa (J3 Johannesburg Tournament 2021), where prizes worth NIS 25,000 ($7,800) were distributed among the winners. Simon and Khirin won their opening matches to advance, which Kimchi was eliminated. The three were accompanied by their coach, Yoav Schab.

As stated, the decision to compete on Yom Kippur was likely to ruffle some feathers. Such a decision likely wouldn't have been met with understanding in the 1990s, and certainly not earlier. It should be noted that UCI WorldTeam Israel Start-Up Nation is owned and funded by businessmen Sylvan Adams and Ron Baron, and is not supported in any official capacity by the State of Israel.

The Israel Tennis Association said in response: "These are personal tournaments for the players, not the official national team."

Israel Start-Up Nation said: "The Tour of Slovakia has five stages and as per the rules of racing events – absence from one of the days – in this case, Yom Kippur – doesn't allow [the rider] to continue competing in the remaining days. The choice was in the hands of the cyclists and had they asked not to compete in Slovakia, the team would have accepted their request, of course, and assigned them to a different race."

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