ITIA releases verdict on Jannik Sinner’s doping case

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) finally announced its official ruling regarding the doping case of world no. 1 ranked male tennis player Jannik Sinner.

After testing positive for an anabolic steroid twice last March, the Italian tennis ace will continue to compete in the upcoming professional tournaments after the ITIA’s investigation found out that the banned substance barged into Sinner’s system through his fitness trainer’s over-the-counter spray.

According to Sinner, the spray that was bought in Italy contained Clostebol, which was used to treat his physiotherapist’s wound on his finger.

His physiotherapist then made direct contact with Sinner after treating him during the post and pre-game, without wearing any gloves.

The first positive test came out during his participation in the Indian Wells tournament last March and repeated his results eight days after during an out-of-competition sampling.

The ITIA initially suspended Sinner from participating in the next set of ATP events, until strong and substantial evidence was collected by his camp.

Despite the verdict, the ITIA added that Sinner would be losing $325,000 (18,314,887 pesos) worth of prize money and would be deducted 400 ranking points.

Karen Moorhouse, the CEO of the ITIA, shared that Sinner and his camp fully cooperated during the investigation process.

“We are encouraged that no fault or negligence has been found on Jannik Sinner’s part. We would also like to acknowledge the robustness of the investigation process and independent evaluation of the facts under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP), which has allowed him to continue competing,” wrote the ATP.

With the recent turn of events, Sinner was given the green light to participate in the nearing US Open Grand Slam event that will kick off in the final week of August.