Jannik Sinner’s fired physiotherapist at centre of doping row reveals recent ‘private’ chat
The physiotherapist at the centre of Jannik Sinner’s drug testing controversy has revealed he still has a “cordial” relationship with the world No 2 despite being fired by the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Sinner split with physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi and fitness trainer Umberto Ferrera shortly before the 2024 US Open, after both men were held responsible by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for the Italian’s failed drugs tests back in March 2024.
The four-time major champion was initially found to have been of “no fault or negligence” by the ITIA after twice testing positive for the banned substance clostebol, after they accepted that he had accidentally been contaminated by Naldi.
The physiotherapist was given a treatment for a cut on his hand containing the banned substance by Ferrara, before treating Sinner without the use of gloves.
Though they initially remained part of his team, Sinner fired both Naldi and Ferrera once the case and the ruling were made public, and he was ultimately handed a three-month suspension after settling with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which was appealing the ITIA’s initial ruling.
Though Ferrera has now been brought back into the 24-year-old’s entourage, Naldi has remained on the sidelines, and a return looks unlikely.
However, in a new interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Naldi claimed that he had maintained a good relationship with the former world No 1 despite the controversy.
“I never wanted to comment on what happened with the Sinner team, and I will continue not to. Even though it’s an incident that has hurt me, both personally and professionally,” said Naldi
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“Even during the proceedings, we always had a good relationship. I’ve always behaved correctly; I’ve never sought publicity. These are the first official statements I’ve made since everything happened.
“At times, I’ve been put in the mouth with words taken from other contexts that have sparked social media hate and controversy.
“Unlike others, I never said anything about what happened, and I think my honesty was evident and appreciated.”
Naldi also revealed that he had recently seen Sinner in New York, when the world No 2 was attempting to defend his US Open title.
The physiotherapist claimed that the conversation had been cordial, and that he had also spoken to Ferrara and Darren Cahill — one of Sinner’s coaches — during that spell.
He added: “We talked, it was cordial, we shared private things.
“Beyond everything, the human relationship remains after a case that involved us, and it was just an unfortunate series of coincidences, and we are aware of that.
“I saw [Darren] Cahill, who has always been very kind, and I ran into [Umberto] Ferrara. I come from a basketball background, I’ve always tried to bring team spirit to the Sinner team, too, and that’s one of the things that was most appreciated.
“Even though the collaboration has ended, there’s no hard feelings. What happened can’t be changed, but we have to move on. Life goes on.”
Having been beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final and losing his world No 1 ranking to the Spaniard as a result, Sinner has returned to action at the China Open this week.
Sinner lifted the China Open title back in 2023 and was beaten by Alcaraz in the final last year, though he is the top seed and heavy favourite in the world No 1’s absence.
The Italian began his campaign on Thursday with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over Marin Cilic.
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