Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked tennis player, was stripped of prize money and points earned at the Indian Wells tournament in California after testing positive twice for a banned anabolic steroid in March. However, he will not face suspension as an independent tribunal ruled that the positive tests were not intentional.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced the details of the case on Tuesday. Sinner, who recently won the Cincinnati Open and is a favorite heading into the U.S. Open in New York next week, became the No. 1 player in the ATP rankings in June. He is viewed as one of the top emerging stars in men’s tennis, along with fellow player Carlos Alcaraz.
The 23-year-old Italian claimed his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and reached the semifinals at the French Open in June, as well as the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July. He opted out of the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis.
Sinner’s positive tests during the Indian Wells event were for low levels of Clostebol, a prohibited anabolic steroid primarily used in ophthalmology and dermatology. This is the same substance that led to the suspension of MLB player Fernando Tatis Jr. Sinner’s second positive test occurred eight days later from an out-of-competition sample.
Sinner’s team released a statement indicating that the presence of Clostebol in his system resulted from his fitness trainer purchasing an over-the-counter Italian product to treat a small wound on Sinner’s finger. According to the team, the physiotherapist treating Sinner was unaware of the product’s contents, and contact with open skin lesions caused inadvertent contamination.
The ITIA accepted this explanation and confirmed that there was no intentional doping violation. Following a hearing on August 15, an independent panel ruled there was “No Fault or Negligence” in Sinner’s case, thus imposing no period of ineligibility, though he still lost points from the Indian Wells tournament.
Sinner expressed his determination to move past this challenging experience, emphasizing his commitment to compliance with the ITIA’s anti-doping program and the meticulous efforts of his support team.