No suspension for Sinner despite positive drug tests

AP:

TOP-RANKED TENNIS player Jannik Sinner tested positive twice for an anabolic steroid in March but will not be suspended because the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) determined the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist.

The ITIA announced the case’s resolution yesterday and said Sinner will lose the $325,000 in prize money and 400 rankings points he earned at the tournament in Indian Wells, California, where his first positive drug test happened.

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

Sinner won the Cincinnati Open on Monday and will be among the favourites at the US Open, which starts in New York next week. Sinner made his debut at number-one in the ATP rankings in June and is considered among the top stars of the new generation in men’s tennis, along with Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner, an Italian who turned 23 on Friday, won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam title. He reached the semifinals at the French Open in June and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July, before sitting out the Paris Olympics, saying he had tonsilitis.

During the Indian Wells hard-court event in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use. It’s the same drug for which San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr was suspended by Major League Baseball in 2022.

Sinner tested positive again eight days later in an out-of-competition sample.

He was provisionally suspended because of those test results, but he successfully appealed and was allowed to keep competing on tour.

Sinner said his test results happened because his fitness trainer purchased an over-the-counter spray in Italy that contained Clostebol and gave it to Sinner’s physiotherapist to treat a cut on the physiotherapist’s finger. The physiotherapist then treated Sinner, while not wearing gloves.

The ITIA said it accepted Sinner’s explanation and determined the violation was not intentional. An independent panel held a hearing on August 15 and “determined a finding of No Fault or Negligence applied in the case, resulting in no period of ineligibility,” according to the ITIA.

ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said “Sinner and his representatives fully cooperated” with her group’s “thorough investigation.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency and Italy’s anti-doping body both are allowed to appeal the decision.

Because of the in-competition test result, Sinner must forfeit the ranking points and prize money he earned by reaching the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

“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 Program (TADP), which has allowed him to continue competing,” the ATP Tour said in a statement.

“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.”