21 august 2024 : Tennis professionals Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov have expressed their opinions regarding the decision to exonerate ATP world number one Jannik Sinner, despite his positive tests for a prohibited substance on two occasions. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Tuesday that Sinner had tested positive earlier this season for a banned substance, yet the agency opted to absolve him of any wrongdoing.
Nonetheless, the top-ranked player will forfeit his results, prize money, and the 400 ranking points earned at Indian Wells, in accordance with the prevailing anti-doping regulations.
The ITIA stated, “An independent tribunal convened by Sport Resolutions has determined that Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner bears No Fault or Negligence for two Anti-Doping Rule Violations under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP),” in a statement released on Tuesday.
Sinner provided a sample during the Indian Wells Masters on March 10, 2024, which revealed the presence of a metabolite of clostebol, an anabolic agent prohibited at all times by WADA, albeit at low levels, according to the ITIA.
A second sample was collected eight days later, again indicating low levels of the same metabolite.
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios criticized the situation as absurd, asserting that Sinner should face a two-year ban. “Absurd—whether it was accidental or intentional,” Kyrgios remarked on X. “Testing positive twice for a banned (steroid) substance warrants a two-year suspension. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream… Sure.”
Canadian player Shapovalov also commented on the matter via social media, stating, “I can’t imagine how other players who have been banned for contaminated substances must feel right now.”
Meanwhile, the tribunal convened by Sport Resolutions accepted Sinner’s defense, in which he explained that clostebol entered his system through massages and sports therapy.
According to the ITIA, Sinner stated that his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, used an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol on his own skin to address a minor finger injury and subsequently performed massages from March 5 to March 13 without wearing gloves.