Jannik Sinner set to team up with Novak Djokovic’s former trainer after controversial failed drug tests drama
Jannik Sinner is set to appoint a new fitness trainer following the recent departure of two key members from his team after he failed two anti-doping tests.
The world No 1 tested positive for the banned substance clostebol at the Indian Wells Open on March 10 and 18, but he launched successful appeals on both occasions and was allowed to continue playing.
The matter was kept under wraps and only became public in August when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared Sinner of any wrongdoing as they stated he bore “no fault or negligence”.
Instead, it was found that clostebol entered his system “as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound”.
That support member was physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi and he parted ways with Sinner a few weeks later along with fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara, who provided the substance to Naldi.
It meant Sinner competed with a two-man team during the North American hard-court season with coaches Darren Cahill Simone and Vagnozzi sharing the duties between them, but it was a successful tour as he won the Cincinnati Open and the US Open.
But Sinner is now ready to make new additions to his team and Italian media reports he has turned to Marco Panichi and Claudio Zimaglia.
Fitness trainer Panichi worked with tennis great Novak Djokovic until early in 2024 as he left soon along with Goran Ivanisevic in March when Djokovic opted to overhaul his support team.
The 59-year-old Italian first started working with the Serbian in 2017 before joining on a full-time basis in 2019. Panichi has also worked with rising Chinese star Shang Juncheng in the past.
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The name of Zimaglia has also been mentioned as a new possible new physiotherapist for Sinner, but it appears that is not a done deal just yet.
Zimaglia is another expert who has ties with Djokovic as he started working with Djokovic in 2022, but he is a familiar face for Sinner from their time at the Piatti Tennis Center as the two-time Grand Slam winner was coached by Ricciardo Piatti until February 2022.
By replacing Naldi and Ferrara, Sinner will hope to start a new chapter as he admitted after his US Open title run that the whole episode has had an impact on him.
“It was and it’s still a little bit in my mind. It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus about the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. Obviously it was very difficult for me to enjoy in certain moments,” he explained.
“Also, how I behaved or how I walked on the court in certain tournaments before, it was not the same as I used to be, so whoever knows me better, they know that something was wrong. But during this tournament, slowly I restarted to feel a little bit more how I am as a person.
“It was not easy, that’s for sure, but in the other way I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job mentally staying there every point I play, and that’s it.”