Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios thinks it is ‘ridiculous’ that Jannik Sinner escaped a suspension after failing two doping tests.
Sinner tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol during the tournament in Indian Wells on March 10 and then again just eight days later.
The Italian was provisionally suspended but successfully appealed the decision and was allowed to continue playing on the ATP tour while the International Tennis Integrity Unit assessed all the evidence.
Sinner stated that the banned substance entered his body when his physiotherapist Umberto Ferrara used a spray containing clostebol to treat a wound on the tennis star’s finger.
The 23-year-old’s team explained that Ferrara had bought the spray in Italy, one of the few countries where people can buy products containing clostebol without a prescription.
Nick Kyrgios was unhappy that Sinner escaped suspension after failing two drug tests
Sinner was tested at Indian Wells and tested positive for the banned substance clostebol
Nick Kyrgios took to social media to attack Sinner, calling for the Italian to be suspended
However, Kyrgios did not accept the explanation and demanded that Sinner be suspended.
‘Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned,’ Kyrgios wrote on X.
‘If you are tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you have to stay away for two years.
‘Your performance has improved. Massage cream… Yes, nice’.
News of Sinner’s failed tests was announced Tuesday by the International Tennis Integrity Unit, which stated that Sinner was “not at fault or negligent.”
However, Sinner received 400 ranking points and $250,000 less than the amount of ranking points and prize money he had earned at Indian Wells.
The investigation revealed that Sinner had a minuscule amount of clostebol in his body, equivalent to less than a billionth of a gram.
“There is no indication that the small concentration in his system would have had a performance-enhancing effect,” the court said.
News of the Italian tennis star’s failed tests came just days after he won the Cincinnati Open
Sinner now focuses on the US Open as he hopes to win his second Grand Slam this year
In a statement, Sinner said: ‘I will now put this very challenging and hugely unfortunate period behind me. I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that I remain compliant with the ITIA Anti-Doping Programme and I have a team around me who are scrupulous in their own compliance.’
Sinner now turns his attention to the US Open, which starts on August 26.