Jannik Sinner, the world’s number one ranked tennis player, was sanctioned for doping violations after testing positive for banned substances twice. An independent adjudication body ruled that Sinner was “not at fault or negligent” in the two positive tests.
On March 10, 2024, during an in-competition test at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid not on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) prohibited substances list. A second out-of-competition test on March 18 also tested positive for a metabolite of clostebol. The standard sanction for a found violation of this nature is a four-year suspension.
Because Clostebol is a non-listed substance, a violation of the AAF requires a provisional suspension from tennis. Sinner has appealed both suspensions and has been allowed to play and reach the top of tennis while an investigation into whether he knowingly took a banned substance continues. He won the Cincinnati Masters on Monday.
An independent adjudication panel appointed by Sport Resolutions, a private company that frequently oversees doping cases, approved the lifting of both athletes’ suspensions.
The International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) investigation concluded with a hearing on August 15, which was also overseen by Sport Resolutions. During that hearing, the independent adjudication body ruled that Sinner was “not at fault or negligent” in two violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP). The Italian admitted to both violations and will be able to continue playing as he has done since the tests were conducted.
In separate statements on Tuesday, the ITIA and Sinner’s team said the Italian athlete had tested positive for low levels of an anabolic steroid used as part of the notorious East German government-led anti-doping campaign in the 1960s and 1970s.
Sinnar’s team and the ITIA said he had cooperated fully with the investigation.
The ITIA investigation concluded that an over-the-counter therapeutic spray containing clostebol was brought to Indian Wells by Sinner’s physical therapist, Umberto Ferrara, who obtained the spray under the brand name Trofodermin in February.
Sinner’s physiotherapist, Giacomo Nardi, cut himself with the scalpel he used to treat calluses on Sinner’s feet during the tournament. Nardi used a spray to treat the cuts but “did not check the contents of the spray or see that the container’s label contained the word ‘clostebol’,” according to the ruling.
The physiotherapist then provided massage and treatment to Sinner between March 5 and March 13. “The physiotherapist treated Yannick, but his negligence, combined with multiple open wounds on Yannick’s body, led to the contamination,” according to a statement from Sinner’s team.
Sinner did not learn of his positive test result until April, after he lost in the semifinals at Indian Wells to Carlos Alcaraz and won the Miami Open. According to the full decision released by the ITIA on Tuesday, Sinner has been provisionally suspended from April 4 to April 5 and from April 17 to April 20.
“I now move forward through this very difficult and very unfortunate time,” Sinner said.
“I will continue to do everything in my power to remain compliant with the ITIA anti-doping program and I have a team around me that is very vigilant about compliance.”
Sinner loses 400 ranking points at Indian Wells (George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Although clostebol is considered a weaker steroid compared to other performance enhancing drugs, it helps build muscle and aids in the recovery process after intense exercise, allowing athletes to train harder. Clostebol is also found in a variety of therapeutic creams available without a prescription in various countries.
Sinner’s lawyer, Jamie Singer, said the Italian was the latest player to fall victim to the team’s mistakes and that the ITIA did not dispute Sinner’s claim of innocence of knowingly taking a banned substance.
“By law, he is responsible for mistakes made by members of his team and unfortunately those mistakes led to the positive test,” Singer said.
Italian tennis players have previously tested positive for Clostebol: Matilde Paoletti and Mariano Tamaro, who were both 17 years old at the time, tested positive for doping under the jurisdiction of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 2021, Honest Sports reported.
Both players were subject to mandatory provisional suspensions due to their AAF results. Neither player was, or remains, as notorious as Sinner. Sinner’s test came just weeks after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against the ITIA in tennis’ most recent high-profile anti-doping case, that of former Grand Slam champion Simona Halep.
The ITIA had sought a six-year ban for the Romanian player, who was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after he tested positive for roxadustat.
Halep will return to the tour in Miami in 2024 (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Halep claimed she inadvertently failed a doping test through tainted supplements recommended by her coaching staff, including Patrick Mouratoglou. The CAS ruled that on the “balance of probabilities” Halep’s doping violation was “not intentional.” The CAS reduced Halep’s four-year ban to nine months, roughly half the time she had already served under her provisional suspension.
The Halep incident has sparked widespread calls for reform from players and tennis officials, as well as criticism of the ITIA’s lengthy investigation. In a now-deleted post on X in March, Darren Cahill, Halep’s former coach and now Sinner’s coach, called for an end to “false accusations and false narratives” about the Halep incident.
The ITIA carries out around 2,500 tests each quarter on tennis players of all abilities and ages, with the highest ranked players receiving the most testing. Testing takes place during and outside of tournaments, and players must report their exact whereabouts for one hour each day, allowing the ITIA to subject players to random blood and urine tests.
(Top photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
