Jannik Sinner failed drug tests: Curious case of Italian player banned despite same defence
Jannik Sinner has been cleared to compete at next week’s US Open despite failing two drug tests for an anabolic steroid in March, yet the debate over the most controversial story of the tennis year rumbles on.
Sinner tested positive for the banned substance clostebol, an anabolic agent that can aid muscle growth, at the Indian Wells Masters event, but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had accidentally entered his system via a product one of his team had used to treat a small wound.
Sinner, who warmed up for the US Open starting later this month by winning the Cincinnati title on Monday, first tested positive on March 10 while competing in Indian Wells.
He was red-flagged again in an out-of-competition test eight days later, with both samples yielding trace amounts of clostebol, but he was able to continue playing on the ATP Tour after successfully challenging a provisional suspension.
Scientific experts consulted by the ITIA concluded Sinner’s account – in which his physiotherapist had used an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol on his skin between March 5 to 13 – was credible.
Sinner said in a statement: “I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me.
“I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I comply with the ITIA’s anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.”
Sinner’s version of events to explain how clostebol got into his system was accepted by the ITIA and as a result, there was no ban for the world No 1.
Yet his fellow Italian player Stefano Battaglino was not successful when he made the same appeal over a positive test for clostebol last year.
On 14 September 2022 at an M15 tournament in Morocco, 25-year-old Battaglino provided an in-competition urine sample, which was found to contain metabolites of clostebol.
Battaglino argued the clostebol got into his system due to a cream used by a tournament physiotherapist, who treated him without wearing gloves.
According to the ITIA press release confirming a ban for Battaglino last November, an adverse analytical finding for clostebol carries a mandatory provisional suspension.
Battaglino, who has a career-high ATP singles ranking of 760, requested a hearing before an independent tribunal convened by Sport Resolutions, as Sinner did back in March.
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That hearing was held remotely in October 2023 and the player argued that his violation was unintentional and that his sanction should be further reduced on grounds of no fault or negligence or no significant fault or negligence.
The independent tribunal determined that Battaglino did not prove the source of the clostebol and therefore found that the anti-doping rule violations were intentional. As such, the player was handed a four-year ban from tennis.
As with Sinner, the traces of clostebol in Battaglino’s urine were described as ‘very low’, but the conclusion of the tribunal was that the player’s explanation was ‘nothing more than mere speculation’.
The verdict went on to report: “The Player has failed to produce any evidence to support his version of events and his scientific evidence is soundly rebutted.”
Sinner got a very different result using the same defence in his appeal and Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has admitted lower-ranked players may struggle to defend themselves if they get caught up in a drug scandal purely due to the huge cost of legal bills.
“The one thing I will say is it makes it a little easier for someone who is ranked a little higher as they can afford to fight this case properly and fairly,” Cahill told ESPN.
“I think a player ranked, 300, 500 or 1000 in the world they don’t have the funds. I don’t know how much it has cost him (Sinner) to put his legal team together and to get the experts.
“When they determined whether the story we said on how it got into his system, the ITIA had two of their own experts and we had one of our own experts as well. All three said it is highly likely this story is correct. To do that, you have to have a lot of money to get those experts.
“Jannik is a good man. He is honest to core. He is in a situation where he is an innocent victim of a situation which is highly unfortunate.
“He is paying a big price with this news coming out but over time, this won’t affect his legacy in the game. Had they come back and given him fault, he would not have deserved that.”
Every doping case is different, but the cases of Sinner and Battaglino have similarities that highlight how a career can flip on the decision of a disciplinary hearing.
As Cahill pointed out, money can buy you an elite legal team that can present a more thorough case and that may have contributed to the different outcomes in these two stories.
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