Explained: Why Jannik Sinner has been cleared of wrongdoing despite failing anti-doping tests

Jannik Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol in March, a substance on WADA’s prohibited list, but was allowed to compete and will not be suspended. read more

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has been cleared of any wrongdoing after twice testing positive for a banned substance at Indian Wells, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Tuesday (August 21).

What happened?

At Indian Wells tournament, Umberto Ferrara, part of Sinner’s team, had a bottle of Trofodermin in his possession. The spray contains Clostebol, a steroid declared as a doping substance by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Trofodermin is used to treat skin wounds. Giacomo Naldi, Sinner’s physiotherapist, had a cut on his finger and Ferrara applied the spray.

Advertisement

As per Sinner’s defence, Naldi applied a massage to Sinner without gloves, which produced contact between the steroid, which was on Naldi’s hands, and Sinner’s skin. This, per Sinner’s appeal, is where the infection would have occurred.

Sinner provided an in-competition sample at Indian Wells on March 10, 2024 which contained the presence of a metabolite of clostebol at low levels, according to the ITIA.

A further sample, conducted eight days later out of competition, also tested positive for low levels of the same metabolite.

The Italian reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells and won the tournament in Miami that followed right after. Both times, Sinner allegedly didn’t know of the positive test result.

He was reportedly notified of the positive result in April. He would then skip tournaments in Madrid and Rome citing hip problems. In total, he missed 27 days of competition.

During this time period, Sinner, lawyers and his team appealed immediately to stop an automatic suspension that applies when a player tests positive.

In the hearing, they proved that the amount was tiny (one billionth of a gram) and that it was accidentally injected into the player’s system. For this reason, he was allowed to continue playing.

What makes clostebol unique?

In March this year, Marco Bortolotti also tested positive for clostebol and was acquitted for negligence. In his case, the Italian tennis player had also argued that it was injected into his system by accident.

Advertisement

The substance has been found in several Italian tennis players, and it seems to be common, since this spray is sold in pharmacies and does not need a prescription. Although, it very categorically mentions “Doping” on the bottle.

Sinner and Bortolotti are not the only tennis players to have tested positive for clostebol. In 2021, Matilde Paoletti and Mariano Tammaro, both 17 at the time, had tested positive.

As per WADA, half of the world’s clostebol cases come from Italy. That is largely due to the fact that Italy is one of the only remaining countries in which clostebol is still sold. This was also the case with Meldonium in Russia, for which Maria Sharapova tested positive.

Advertisement

Why ITIA exonerated Sinner?

“ITIA today confirms that an independent tribunal convened by Sport Resolutions has ruled that Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner bears No Fault or Negligence for two Anti-Doping Rule Violations under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP),” said the agency in a statement.

“The player explained that the substance had entered their system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.”

Has Sinner been punished in any way?

While the 23-year-old has been cleared of any wrongdoing, he will be stripped of his results, prize money and the 400 ranking points he accumulated at Indian Wells, in accordance with the anti-doping rules in force.

Advertisement

“I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me,” said Sinner in a statement published on X.

“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA’s anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”

How have other players reacted?

Fellow players very quickly turning on Jannik Sinner, and very publicly too.

It's getting ugly real fast.

I've never seen ANYTHING like this before. pic.twitter.com/fLHVOFkYFM — Swish 🍒 Tennis (@Zwxsh) August 20, 2024

Advertisement

Other players on the tour have reacted to the news with scepticism and anger.

“Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned,” wrote Australian player Nick Kyrgios on X.

“You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream… Yeah nice.”

Canadian Denis Shapovalov wrote on social media: “Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now.”

Furthermore, the ITIA handled this 1000x better than the butcher job with Simona..

Jannik is about as good a person that exists on tour.

At least read the report before you pass judgement. — John Millman (@johnhmillman) August 20, 2024

It’s even worse now that they are giving “Filing Failures” and going back months to see where you made errors in the details of your submissions. It’s happened to me already where I put the right address and time.. they never came to test me but later saw that my “in competition”… https://t.co/D2cbpfE7VQ — Vasek Pospisil (@VasekPospisil) August 20, 2024

Why are other players miffed?

The positive tests were not initially made public while the ITIA investigation was ongoing. ITIA clarified that they’re not supposed to release the findings immediately when a player fails a dope test.

“The WADA rules dictate when cases become public. When any player has a finding, there is a very carefully managed process to confirm the finding, investigate and then next steps agreed,” said a statement.

“If a player is provisionally suspended, then we announce it. Once a case is concluded, we announce it. In this case, the player was issued with a provisional suspension for each of the findings.”

“On both occasions he successfully appealed the provisional suspensions to an independent arbitrator. Once an appeal is successful, it remains anonymous. Had the player’s appeal been turned down, it would have been announced. I hope that clarifies.”

Provisional suspensions were applied to Sinner after the two tests, however he successfully appealed them both meaning that he was able to continue competing.

ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said: “Following that investigation, the ITIA accepted the player’s explanation as to the source of the clostebol and that the presence of the substance was not intentional.”

The ATP, the governing body of men’s professional tennis, backed up Sinner and the investigation process.

ATP STATEMENT ON JANNIK SINNER

‘We are encouraged that no fault or negligence has been found on Jannik Sinner’s part. We would also like to acknowledge the robustness of the investigation process and independent evaluation of the facts under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme… — ATP Tour (@atptour) August 20, 2024

“We are encouraged that no fault or negligence has been found on Jannik Sinner’s part,” read a statement on the ATP Tour’s website.

“We would also like to acknowledge the robustness of the investigation process and independent evaluation of the facts under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP), which has allowed him to continue competing.

“This has been a challenging matter for Jannik and his team, and underscores the need for players and their entourages to take utmost care in the use of products or treatments.

“Integrity is paramount in our sport.”

Click here to read article