- Australian lawyer predicts tennis superstar Jannik Sinner will receive a police ban
- Sinner tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol in March
- The court found that there was ‘no fault or negligence’ on his part
Australian swimmer Shayna Jack’s lawyer says tennis superstar Jannik Sinner is likely to be held accountable for his failed drug test and could be banned from the sport for up to two years.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is appealing an independent ruling that cleared the world number 1 of responsibility for testing positive for a banned substance.
Sinner first tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol at Indian Wells on March 10, and again eight days later.
He was provisionally suspended, but both times he successfully appealed and was allowed to continue playing while the evidence was assessed.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency took the case to an independent tribunal in August, when Sinner’s explanation for why there was an extremely small amount of clostebol in his system – less than a billionth of a gram – was accepted.
Sinner managed to convince the tribunal that his two positive tests were the result of contamination.
The lawyer for Australian swimmer Shayna Jack predicts that Jannik Sinner will be suspended
Physio Giacomo Naldi (left) and fitness coach Umberto Ferrara (right) pictured with Sinner (center) after the tennis star won the 2024 Australian Open in January
On September 26, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the ruling finding ‘no fault or negligence’ on Sinner’s behalf. WADA states that the ruling is not in line with the applicable rules.
WADA has suggested that it would like to see Sinner ineligible for a period of one to two years.
Brisbane-based lawyer Tim Fuller, who represented Shayna Jack after she tested positive for a banned substance, believes the tennis body’s decision on Sinner will be reversed.
“In my opinion, I believe that the decision for no fault or negligence will be overturned on appeal and a sanction will be imposed,” Fuller said. The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I would suggest that it is a very, very unusual case,” he added.
‘All WADA is really doing here is saying that we accept that it is unintentional, but that you bear, or have borne, some degree of culpability or negligence for what happened… we are saying that you, as athlete, bears ultimate responsibility – That is strict liability – and we therefore say that you have shown fault and negligence in your actions.
‘And now we’ll take a look [what] we say there is a medium to high level of fault or negligence, and that’s why they’re looking [a ban of] one to two years.
‘One year would be considered at the high end of the low error standard. Zero to 12 [months] is the range for low errors.’
The Italian tennis star avoided a ban after failing drug tests twice
Sinner’s explanation was that fitness coach Umberto Ferrara purchased an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol in Italy a month before traveling to Indian Wells.
During the Indian Wells event, physio Giacomo Naldi cut his finger and was advised by Ferrara to use the spray to treat the wound.
According to a statement from the Sinner team: ‘The physiotherapist treated Jannik and his lack of care combined with several open wounds on Jannik’s body caused the contamination.’
The tribunal heard that Sinner suffers from a skin condition psoriasiform dermatitis, which can cause irritation and, if scratched, cuts and sores. This was accepted as the reason why the clostebol entered his body through the physiotherapist’s finger.
Sinner has since fired both Ferrara and Naldi from his team.