A scalpel, a spray and a skin condition: how Jannik Sinner explained doping contamination

Timeline: Sinner, the men’s No 1-ranked player, twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol but successfully argued he had been inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist. Jannik Sinner has finally brought an end to his doping saga by accepting a three-month ban offered by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The 23-year-old, who is the men’s No 1-ranked tennis player and won the Australian Open in January, twice tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid last year.

It’s a case that no one knew about for months and one that drew all sorts of questions and criticism from other players who wondered whether there was a double standard at play because of Sinner’s success, were confused about why it was all kept under wraps, and wanted to know why Sinner was allowed to keep competing before there was a resolution. “This case had been hanging over me for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year,” Sinner said in a statement.

“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise Wada’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted Wada’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”. Clostebol is an anabolic steroid that can be found in ointments and sprays sold over the counter in some countries, such as Italy, and is used to treat cuts or scrapes.

It is considered a performance enhancer, and several athletes in various sports have been suspended after testing positive; one high-profile example was baseball star Fernando Tatis Jr, who received an 80-game ban from Major League Baseball in 2022. Sinner submitted a urine sample showing traces of clostebol during the Indian Wells tournament in California in March; an out-of-competition sample eight days later also tested positive.

Sinner’s lawyers said that his fitness trainer purchased a spray “easily available over the counter in any Italian pharmacy” which was given to the player’s physiotherapist, Giocomo Naldi to help treat a minor cut on the physio’s finger. Naldi regularly massaged Sinner during the Indian Wells tournament, without wearing gloves. Sinner’s lawyers claimed that because the player had “various skin lesions” on his body due to a skin condition called psoriasiform dermatitis, the spray – which contained clostebol – must have passed from the physio’s hands through to Sinner and caused the “inadvertent contamination”.

12 February 2024: Sinner’s fitness coach, Umberto Ferrara, buys a spray used on cuts, branded Trofodermin, in a pharmacy in Bologna, Italy. 3 March: Physiotherapist Naldi cuts the little finger on his left hand while reaching into his treatment bag, nicking it on the scalpel he uses to treat calluses on players’ feet. He bandages the cut for two days. Witnesses provide discrepancies on exactly where and when the cut occurred but agree it was caused by the scalpel in the bag on 3 March.

Later that evening, Sinner asks about the bandaged finger during a session with Naldi. Naldi explains the cut and says that he has not treated it with anything. 5 March: Naldi removes his bandage and Ferrara recommends he use the Trofodermin spray for its healing qualities. Naldi does not check the contents, which include the banned substance clostebol. Naldi applies the substance to the small wound on his finger every morning for nine days, in the ensuite bathroom in the villa where they are staying in California.

5-13 March: Naldi gives Sinner a daily full-body massage using oils, and without wearing gloves, lasting an hour to an hour and a half. Naldi also performs foot exercises to assist with an ankle injury. The times of day vary. 10 March: Naldi applies two sprays of Trofodermin to his finger in the morning. He treats Sinner’s feet and ankle, where the player’s skin condition – psoriasiform dermatitis – has previously caused itching, leading to scratching and small cuts and sores. Naldi cannot remember if he washed his hands between applying spray to his finger and massaging Sinner.

That evening, after beating German player Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets, Sinner submits two urine samples (primary and corroborative) at Indian Wells, which both test positive for clostebol. 16 March: Sinner is beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of Indian Wells. 18 March: Another urine sample provided by Sinner, ahead of the Miami Open, tests positive for clostebol. 4 April: Sinner is formally notified of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) and the automatic provisional suspension is triggered. Sinner responds – on the same day – with an urgent application for the suspension to be lifted. His provisional ban is lifted the next day.