Jannik Sinner plays a shot during their quarter-final match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal. (The Canadian Press via AP)
The world’s top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner has escaped a ban despite failing two dope tests for an anabolic steroid in March this year. The move has not gone down well with players like Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov slamming the reprieve for Sinner.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), in its ruling, handed a clean chit to Sinner because it determined that the substance, a metabolite of Clostebol, entered Sinner’s system unintentionally through a contaminated over-the-counter spray used by his physiotherapist.
While the ITIA have announced that the 23-year-old Sinner will not face a suspension from tennis, he will forfeit prize money and ranking points earned at the Indian Wells hard-court tournament where the first positive test occurred. After the hard-court tournament in March, Sinner again tested positive eight days later in an out-of-competition sample.
The Italian is expected to 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.
Tennis players react to Jannik Sinner escaping ban
“Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice,” thundered Nick Kyrgios on X.
“Can’t imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now,”
Denis Shapovalov posted on X before adding: “Different rules for different players.”
Clostebol is a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use. The Associated Press notes that it’s the same drug for which San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended by MLB in 2022.
“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 (program) and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”
What was Jannik Sinner’s defence?
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, which caused the substance to enter Sinner’s system unintentionally.
The ITIA said it accepted the player’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.
