Sinner cleared of any fault or negligence by ITIA tribunal in bizarre case

Sinner successfully immediately appealed two provisional suspensions and has now been cleared of any fault

Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells (Antoine Couvercelle/Panoramic)

August 20, 2024

World No 1 Jannik Sinner has been cleared of any fault or negligence by an ITIA tribunal after he tested positive twice for the banned substance clostebol.

The anabolic steroid was found in his routine test samples in March at a very low concentration, leading a trio of experts to concur with Sinner and his team’s explanation – that it entered his blood stream after receiving massages from his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi during Indian Wells.

Naldi had bandaged his finger after cutting it on a scalpel, and Sinner enquired as to whether he had put anything else on it – to which the reply was “No”.

However, after that conversation, Naldi used Trofodermin spray on the wound – a treatment containing clostebol, available over the counter in Italy, and purchased by Sinner’s fitness coach Umberto Ferrara.

The witness statements indicate that the spray was not in its original box and that Naldi did not check the contents – although Naldi and Ferrara’s accounts differ on whether or not an anti-doping warning was given before he used it.

Naldi gave Sinner massages and treated his feet on a daily basis during the tournament, and the record shows that he did not use gloves while performing these duties.

The tribunal agreed that Sinner had done all that could have been expected of him and was neither at fault nor negligent so he will not be subject to any period of ineligibility, but his results, prize money and ranking points from the ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells – where he lost in the semi-final to Carlos Alcaraz – are erased.

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