World No. 1 Jannik Sinner won’t be suspended after twice testing positive for banned substance

Less than 24 hours after Jannik Sinner won the Cincinnati Open, it was revealed that the Italian tennis star avoided a suspension despite twice testing positive for a prohibited substance in March.

Less than 24 hours after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner won the ATP 1000 Cincinnati Open title, it was revealed that the Italian tennis star avoided a suspension despite twice testing positive for a prohibited substance in March. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in a statement Tuesday that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” despite testing positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, at low levels from a sample that was collected March 10 at Indian Wells. A further sample collected eight days later also tested positive at low levels. In a statement posted on social media, Sinner said the positive tests stemmed from “inadvertent contamination of Clostebol” through treatment from his physiotherapist. The 2024 Australian Open winner also said that his physio had been applying an over-the-counter spray to their own skin – not on Sinner – to treat a small wound. “His fitness trainer purchased a product, easily available over the counter in any Italian pharmacy, which he gave to Jannik’s physiotherapist to care for a cut on the physiotherapist’s finger,” Sinner’s statement said. “Jannik knew nothing of this, and his physiotherapist did not know that he was using a product containing Clostebol. … The physiotherapist treated Jannik without gloves and coupled with various skin lesions on Jannik’s body caused the inadvertent contamination.” Typically, after a positive test, a player would be handed an automatic provisional suspension, though they have the right to apply to an independent tribunal chair appointed by Sport Resolutions to have that provisional suspension lifted, according to the ITIA.