Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill says the tennis star has ‘suffered’ after twice testing positive for a banned substance but is glad the ‘truth came out’.
The world No.1 tested positive for for trace amounts of the banned substance clostebol while competing at Indian Wells back in March.
Another sample taken eight days later also tested positive for low levels of the same metabolite.
However, Sinner has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after an independent tribunal ruled that that a bare-handed massage from his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, had led to the ‘contamination’.
Sannik’s team stated that Naldi had applied an over-the-counter spray – given to him by physical trainer Umberto Ferrara – to a small cut on his hand before carrying out treatment on the Australian Open champion.
In a short statement, Sinner said that he intended to ‘put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind him’ but some, including Nick Kyrgios, feel the Italian should have been slapped with a lengthy ban.
Cahill, though, Sinner’s coach since 2022, is adamant the 23-year-old would never intentionally ingest a banned substance.
‘It was not an easy period for all of us. So we have been living with this for a few months, knowing how serious of an issue it is,’ Cahill told ESPN.
‘Back in March at Indian Wells, Giacomo Naldi, who is the physiotherapist of Jannik, put his hand in his medical bag and cut his finger on a scalpel that they use to cut off the callouses on the feet.
‘On the pinky finger there was quite a big cut. I didn’t see it. The other person in the room at the time was Umberto Ferrara, the physical trainer of Jannik, and Jannik also didn’t see it.
‘I walked into the room and saw that he was putting a white bandage on his finger, looked and asked him what happened and he said he had cut his finger. I said, “Is there anything we need to do?”, and he said, “No, all good, no problem”, and that was the last I actually thought about it.’
Cahill added: ‘Jannik actually saw Giacomo that night, saw for the first time that he had cut his finger, asked him what he did, asked him if he’d used any ointments or creams or anything to put on that finger to help the healing and he said no, which was the truth at the time.
‘What happened after that was between Umberto Ferrara and Giacomo Naldi. Umberto had a spray which is quite common in Italy, I’d never heard about it before, and he offered it to Giacomo to help with the healing, he had it for personal reasons I believe.
‘From that, it had a banned substance inside that spray which is quite common in Italy and there’s actually been a few cases of Italian players testing positive before with that particular spray.
‘Over the course of the next week, Giacomo continued to use that spray to help the healing of his finger, unbeknownst to any of us. And with the treatments that he was giving to Jannik, somehow it passed from Giacomo’s finger through to Jannik and he tested positive.’
Cahill is confident Sinner had ‘no part in this at all’ and it would never be in his nature to ‘cheat’.
‘That’s pretty much the summary for us. Everybody has to know that Jannik had no part in this at all. He didn’t elect to ingest anything, he didn’t take any tablets, he didn’t intend to cheat,’ he continued.
‘Somehow, he’s tested positive through this connection, with this particular spray from Giacomo through to Jannik.
‘We don’t know how… working on the feet, a massage, whatever it may be, and he’s given two positive results because of that.’
Asked what the spray was doing in Sinner’s vicinity, Cahill replied: ‘We are all really well read in anti-doping and WADA rules.
‘Umberto has been in the game for 15 years, he’s got degrees, he’s owned a pharmacy in Italy, he’s worked with many players, he’s in charge of Jannik’s anti-doping, his diet, his physical training, everything surrounding Jannik off the court.
‘So I can’t answer that question. I don’t know why. I’m sure he had it for his personal reasons and probably should never have passed it on to Giacomo.’
Cahill believes the ordeal has wore Sinner down over the last few months and may have contributed to the Italian getting tonsillitis, which ruled him out of the Olympic Games in Paris.
‘It’s been a tough situation. Everyone who goes through these situations really suffers,’ he went on.
‘I, from the outside, watched Simona [Halep] go through her situation and there was nothing fair in that, in watching her suffer as well. To be inside the fence on this one was really difficult for me and to watch him suffer, certainly both mentally and physically.
‘If you’re not a Jannik fan you may not see much difference in what he’s been doing the last few months because he’s still been playing quite well. But if you are a Jannik fan you would have seen a big change in his body language, his physicality on the court, his excitement to be on the court.
‘He’s struggled and I think it’s wore him down physically and mentally. He’s got sick a couple of times, he got tonsillitis which is the reason he missed the Olympics.
‘We’re not looking for any sorrow or anything because we’re quite thankful that there is no ban attached, but I just want to stress that Jannik is a great kid, he’s incredibly professional, he’s maybe the most professional young man that I’ve had the chance to work with.
‘He would never, ever intentionally do anything and he’s just in a situation which is incredibly unfortunate and the truth came out, exactly what happened.
‘There’s no fault, no negligence and hopefully he can get this behind him now and continue to play and get better.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Heartbroken Carlos Alcaraz has to stop interview after Olympic final defeat to Novak Djokovic
MORE : Novak Djokovic bursts into tears after winning Olympic gold to complete career Golden Slam
Share this with