Hours ago, Jannik Sinner was riding high on the back of winning the Cincinnati Open title. Things appeared to have fallen in place for the Italian star ahead of the US Open, where he is looking to win his maiden title. However, in a shocking turn of events, it emerged that Sinner had tested positive for a banned substance, Clostebol, and had failed two doping tests at Indian Wells in March this year.

As it turned out, his physio applied a spray containing this banned substance and Sinner was unaware about it. Much to his relief, the tribunal accepted his justification and he was cleared to play in the US Open. Sinner’s sample was found to be contaminated and the tribunal ruled ‘No Fault or Negligence’ in the case of the Italian tennis player, as he escaped with just forfeiting the points and prize money won at Indian Wells, where he failed the doping tests.

Explaining Sinner’s case, the ITIA CEO, Karen Moorhouse, said, “The ITIA carried out a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the positive tests with which Mr Sinner and his representatives fully co-operated.  Following that investigation, the ITIA accepted the player’s explanation as to the source of the clostebol and that the presence of the substance was not intentional. This was also accepted by the tribunal. ” 

Thus, Sinner is cleared to play in the US Open, where he remains a strong favorite to win the title after his exploits in Cincinnati. However, with the recent developments, the 23-year-old might be affected psychologically, something which might go against him at Flushing Meadows because of the sheer magnitude of the tournament and the additional pressure that comes with it.

Sinner, however, would want to shift his focus back to the court, as he found a way out of what could potentially be a major setback in his career. But how did he get out of this tricky situation?

Jannik Sinner used his rights as a player successfully

According to the World Anti-Doping Code, a provisional suspension is automatically applied whenever a player tests positive for a non-specified substance. However, the players have the right to apply to an independent tribunal chair to have that suspension lifted. In Sinner’s case, he applied to the independent tribunal on both occasions when he failed the doping tests.

Subsequently, Sinner was able to provide a fair justification of how the banned substance entered his body, and the explanation was accepted by the tribunal which cleared the Italian of the doping violation. Further, Sinner agreed to fully cooperate in this case. As a result, he only had to give away $325,000 and 400 ranking points that he earned from the Indian Wells tournament.

Although this controversy is taking the headlines, Sinner hopes to put this incident behind him as he readies for the US Open. “I will now put this very challenging and hugely unfortunate period behind me. 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,” Sinner stated, as he remained confident of a good show at the upcoming US Open.