Jannik Sinner shakes up staff after positive doping tests

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner confirmed he had parted ways with fitness coach Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi after the two were deemed responsible for Sinner’s two positive tests for a banned substance in March.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the doping results and subsequent ruling by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) were released Tuesday, Sinner praised Ferrara and Naldi for their work over the past two seasons in a news conference at the US Open but said he needed to make a change.

“Now, because of these mistakes, I’m not feeling that confident to continue with them,” Sinner said. “The only thing I just need right now, just some clean air. You know, I was struggling a lot in the last months. Now I was waiting for the result, and now I just need some clean air.”

On Tuesday, a day after Sinner won the Cincinnati Open, the ITIA announced Sinner had tested positive for low levels of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use, on both March 10 and March 18. He was provisionally suspended at the time but was able to compete while he appealed the findings.

According to the ITIA, 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.” The ITIA added that the traces of the substance were a “result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.”

Per the ruling, Ferrara purchased the spray and Naldi used it on himself prior to giving Sinner a massage, thus inadvertently contaminating Sinner.

Sinner was stripped of his ranking points and prize money from Indian Wells, the site of the first positive test, but was not suspended. Sinner called it a “long process” and said he had been concerned about the ITIA’s ruling for months while awaiting their final decision.

“Of course I was worried, because it was the first time for me, you know, and hopefully the last time that I am in this situation, position,” Sinner said Friday.

Sinner added that the amount of clostebol in his body was “0.000000001, so there are a lot of zeroes before coming up a 1. So I was worried, of course, because I’m always the player who was working very, very carefully in this. I believe I’m a fair player on and off the court.”

Sinner, 23, who is the reigning Australian Open champion and a favorite at the US Open, said he wasn’t sure how the ruling or the findings would affect his reputation on tour but also didn’t believe he had received any special treatment because of his ranking or stature. Several players, including Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov, have been critical of what they perceive as a double standard.

“Every player who gets tested positive has to go through the same process,” Sinner said. “There is no shortcut, there is no different treatment, they are all the same process.

“I know sometimes the frustration of other players obviously. But maybe because they got suspended is they didn’t know exactly where it comes from, also what substance, but the main reason is where it comes from and how it entered in his own system. We knew it straightaway, and we were aware of what happened. We went straightaway, and I was suspended for two, three days. I couldn’t practice and everything. But they accepted it very, very fast, and that’s why.”

Sinner begins his 2024 US Open campaign on Tuesday against American Mackenzie McDonald. He called the timing of the ruling “not ideal” in terms of preparing for the year’s final major.