World No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner has escaped a ban despite testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid named Clostebol twice in March as the International Tennis Integrity Agency on Tuesday confirmed that the substance entered his system unintentionally.
Notably, Clostebol is a part of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List and a provisional suspension was automatically applied on both occasions when Sinner tested positive for it.
However, Sinner successfully appealed the provisional suspension on both occasions and has been allowed to play.
ITIA's report on Sinner reveals that Clostebol entered his system "as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound".
"That support team member applied the spray between 5 and 13 March, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknowing transdermal contamination," ITIA's report on Sinner stated further.
"Following consultation with scientific experts, who concluded that the player’s explanation was credible, the ITIA did not oppose the player’s appeals to lift the provisional suspensions.
"A thorough investigation by the ITIA followed, including multiple in-depth interviews with Sinner and their support team, all of whom co-operated fully with the process. Following that investigation, and in line with the independent scientific advice, the ITIA accepted the player’s explanation as to the source of clostebol found in their sample and that the violation was not intentional," said ITIA in its ruling on Sinner.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old has decided to move on from the incident. The Italian tennis star has vowed to "comply with the ITIA's anti-doping programme" moving forward.
"I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me," Sinner posted on X. "I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA's anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance."
