Jannik Sinner has escaped a ban despite testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid, with the authorities moving quickly to clarify their decision. It’s been revealed that the world No.1 was found to have traces of Clostebol in his urine during the Indian Wells Open in March, a tournament where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner, 23, duly blamed the results on a healing spray that had been used to treat a cut suffered by his physio, Giacomo Naldi.
Despite an unintentional doping violation carrying the sanction of a two-year suspension, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that Naldi had inadvertently exposed Sinner to the substance through body massages.
Crucially, the ITA ruled that Sinner bears ‘no fault or negligence’ for the failed tests. The small of Clostebol, reported to be less than a billionth of a gram, was deemed by an independent panel to be too small to have a performance-enhancing effect.
Clostebol is regularly found in medical products used to treat swelling and irritation, as well as treatments for muscle wasting diseases and certain types of anaemia. It has long been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.
A provisional suspension was immediately imposed on Sinner, but the Italian challenged the ruling and the ban was overturned. Since being cleared, he’s released a statement vowing to move on from the saga.
“I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me,” he said. “I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA’s anti-doping programme. I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”
Sinner’s failed tests came just six weeks after he was crowned Australian Open champion, signifying the first Grand Slam win of his career. During the ITA investigation, he also reached the semi-final of the French Open, again beaten in the final four by Alcaraz.
But the withdrawal Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros still propelled him to the top of the rankings. It has been confirmed however, that Sinner will lose the points from his run at Indian Wells, a notion which may yet impact his position as No.1.
Sinner will still be the top seed at the US Open though, which gets underway on Monday. And tennis bosses will be relieved at another potential doping scandal in the sport being avoided.
In March this year, Simon Halep had her four-year doping ban reduced to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Romanian had tested positive for roxadustat at the 2022 US Open, an anti-anaemia drug which stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk