Jannik Sinner will not serve his suspension despite failing two anti-doping tests, it was announced on Tuesday.
The world number one has failed tests twice after testing positive for the banned substance Clostebol earlier this year.
Although he had failed both tests, they were not made public because the player successfully appealed the provisional bans resulting from the contamination.
A statement posted by the Italian on social media on Tuesday revealed he had been notified of a positive test in April for a trace amount of Clostebol – less than a billionth of a gram.
She then explained how the positive result came about, revealing that her fitness trainer had purchased a product “readily available over the counter” from a pharmacy.
World number one Jannik Sinner will not serve his suspension after being cleared of wrongdoing following two positive anti-doping tests
The stylish Italian player has posed for photo shoots for Gucci, one of the many lucrative partnerships
‘Following a thorough and exhaustive investigation, the ITIA and Jannik discovered that the unintentional contamination of Clostebol occurred through the treatment he received from his physiotherapist,’ it reads.
‘His fitness coach bought a product, which is easily available over the counter in any Italian pharmacy, and gave it to Jannik’s physiotherapist to treat a cut on his finger. Jannik didn’t know about this and his physiotherapist didn’t know he was using a product containing clostebol.
‘The physiotherapist treated Jannik without gloves, which, combined with several skin lesions on Jannik’s body, led to unintentional contamination.’
Sinner won the Cincinnati Open on Monday, a competition he was able to compete in after appealing the provisional ban imposed on him after the positive results were recorded.
The reigning Australian Open champion had also reached the semi-finals of the French Open and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, but sat out the Olympic tournament due to tonsillitis.
However, he will lose the ranking points and prize money he won at the Indian Wells competition, where he lost in the semi-finals to Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner added in the statement released Tuesday that he would seek to put this “troubling” period behind him, and his lawyer said there was “no doubt” his client was innocent.
“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that I remain compliant with the ITIA anti-doping programme and I have a team around me who are meticulous in their own compliance.”
Sinner’s lawyer Jamie Singer added: “Anti-doping rules have to be very strict to be effective. Unfortunately, the unfortunate consequence is that completely innocent athletes sometimes become entangled in them. There is no doubt that Jannik is innocent in this case.
‘The ITIA did not challenge that key principle. However, under strict liability rules, Jannik is liable for everything that is in its system, even when it is not aware of it, as in this exceptional case.’
