Jannik Sinner’s support team trimmed after failed drug tests as his coach answers question about his legacy

Jannik Sinner will have just his two coaches with him at the US Open as the fallout from his positive doping tests continues.

World No 1 Sinner returned two positive samples for the banned substance clostebol at the Indian Wells Open in March and was twice provisionally suspended, but the bans were overturned on appeal.

Following a thorough investigation, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared the Italian of any wrongdoing as it was found the substance 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”.

Physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi was the man who treated Sinner with his cut finger although it had been confirmed that the Australian Open champion’s fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara was the one who purchased the spray in Bologna.

Both Naldi and Ferrara have been absent from Sinner’s team since the start of the North American hard-court swing as they were not seen at Canada or Cincinnati.

His coach Darren Cahill has confirmed that Sinner will have a two-man support team at the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

“We only got the decision yesterday [Monday], we’re working through that decision at the moment,” he said during an interview on ESPN.

“At the moment it’s just Simone [Vagnozzi] and I, the two coaches that are here, the tennis coaches that are here. And we’re supporting Jannik at the moment.”

The Australian added: “[The decision is] just 24 hours old so we’ve really just been surviving day-to-day for the last few months. So we will just keep pushing forward and see what happens.”

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Since those positive tests in March, Sinner has had a stop-start few months as he missed the Italian Open due to injury, but competed at the French Open and Wimbledon. He then withdrew from the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis before returning for the North American hard-court swing.

After losing in the quarter-final in Canada, he went on to win the Cincinnati Open and Cahill admitted that the Italian has “suffered” the past few months.

“We’ve been living with this for the last few months, which has been challenging and difficult, certainly for Jannik,” he said. “He’s been the one who’s suffered through this the most and he’s the one who’s had to go out there and play tennis and tennis tournaments.

“So it’s been really, really difficult for him, and I take my hat off to him that he’s been able to post some of the results he has. But there are days when you can see that’s he’s physically and emotionally been challenged on the court.”

Although Sinner had been cleared of any wrongdoing, he has still received a lot of negative publicity in recent days.

Will this setback affect his legacy?

“I think over time this won’t affect his legacy in the game I think people will understand it when you read through the entire statement and what he went through and how they determined him to have no fault or no negligence,” Cahill said.

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