Sinner or not, cloud hangs over Italian ace

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 that the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist.

The ITIA announced the case's resolution on Tuesday 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 (program) and that 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 favorites at the US Open, which starts in New York next week. Sinner made his debut at No 1 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, 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 tonsillitis.

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 which resulted in the MLB suspension of San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr 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 Aug 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 are both 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 semifinals at Indian Wells.

"We are encouraged that 'no fault or negligence' has been found on Jannik Sinner's part," the ATP Tour said in a statement.

"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."

"This has been a challenging matter for Jannik and his team, and underscores the need for players and their entourages to take the utmost care in their use of products or treatments. Integrity is paramount in our sport."

Latest case

Sinner is the latest tennis player to become embroiled in a doping case, after two-time major winner Simona Halep tested positive for a prohibited substance at the 2022 US Open.

Halep argued she had unwittingly ingested the blood-booster roxadustat through contaminated nutritional supplements.

Her four-year doping ban was cut to nine months this year.

As the world's top-ranked player, Sinner had already expected the spotlight to fall on him when he arrives in New York for the year's final major that kicks off on Monday.

But, the doping saga has invited an added layer of attention, a day after he won a key US Open tuneup event in Cincinnati.

"It's certainly surprising and shocking at this moment, especially to me, when it happened, apparently, in March," seven-time major winner and ESPN analyst John McEnroe said.

"I don't know how they differentiate between one person saying he was unaware of it and the reasons behind it, and then someone else who says the same thing gets suspended."

Australian player Nick Kyrgios lambasted the Sinner ruling.

"Ridiculous — whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned substance ...you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream... Yeah, nice," Kyrgios said on X.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov wrote on social media: "Can't imagine what every other player that got banned for contaminated substances is feeling right now."

Agencies