According to ESPN on Tuesday, world number one Jannik Sinner of San Candido, Italy will not be suspended for inadvertently taking steroids. He first tested positive during Indian Wells in March. Even though Sinner is not being suspended, he will lose the 400 points he earned for reaching the semifinals there, and is expected to return the $325,000 he won in the tournament.
Sinner stated that the reason why his steroid consumption was inadvertent is because it was injected into him through a spray during a massage conducted by his physiotherapist to treat a wound. Sinner tested positive for the banned substance clostebol twice. The first time came during the Masters 1000 series event in southern California, and the second time was shortly after while not competing.
Not everyone is satisfied with the ruling decided by the International Tennis Integrity Agency. In a statement, Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios said the following, “Ridiculous–whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance…you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…Yeah nice.”
The ruling of the ITIA comes one day after Sinner won the Cincinnati Open for the year. In the final, Sinner defeated American Frances Tiafoe 7-6, 6-2.
It should be noted that this is not the first time a tennis player coached by Australian Darren Cahill has been disciplined for inappropriate drug use. In September of 2023, Romania’s Simona Halep was also suspended for four years for two violations. The drug clostebol was also the same substance baseball player Fernando Tatis of the San Diego Padres took two years ago. As a result, he was suspended 80 games.
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