World No. 1 Tennis star under more scrutiny over banned substance.
After world No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner was exonerated of any responsibility after twice testing positive for a banned substance earlier this year, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Two samples taken eight days apart during the Indian Wells tournament came up positive for anabolic steroid Clostebol in March 2024. Notwithstanding the results, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found in August that Sinner had no wrongdoing and has not been banned from play.
Sinner, 23, linked his positive tests to “inadvertent contamination” from his physiotherapist. A statement he made on August’s social media claims that Sinner’s fitness trainer bought an over-the-counter spray from an Italian pharmacy to cure a cut on the finger of the physiologist.
According to reports, the physio treated Sinner without gloves and sprayed on their own skin, which unintentionally contaminated Sinner by touch with his own skin sores.
Comment from Sinner
Sinner focused on his ignorance of the contents of the product and his physiotherapist’s ignorance of Clostebol’s existence. “Jannik knew nothing of this, and his physiotherapist did not know he was using a product containing Clostebol,” Sinner said. “The physiologist treated Jannik without gloves, and coupled with various skin lesions on Jannik’s body caused the inadvertent contamination.”
Although the independent tribunal exonerated Sinner, WADA has now contested the ruling and asked CAS to examine it. For the tennis player, who has maintained his innocence and evaded sanction thus far, the appeal escalates the stakes. The issue will be widely monitored with possible consequences for Sinner’s reputation in the sport and tennis anti-doping policies.
