Jannik Sinner’s coach Simone Vagnozzi has asserted that every player in the locker room knows the world No 1 “did nothing wrong” in his anti-doping case.
Vagnozzi also admitted that he would be worried about the risk of being suspended if he were “a less serene player than Sinner.”
It was announced in August by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that Sinner had avoided a ban for failing two doping tests in March after an independent tribunal ruled he was not at fault.
The Italian tested positive for low levels of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, on March 10 and 18 — during and after the Indian Wells Masters.
The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his body when receiving a massage from his former physio, Giacomo Naldi, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on his finger.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the verdict, seeking to impose a ban of up to two years on Sinner.
A statement from WADA said: “It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules.
“WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
Vagnozzi
“These were not easy months,” the Italian told La Stampa. We tried to give him as much support as possible, avoiding thinking about what we could not control. Having a clear conscience helped us.
“Words from some colleagues and insiders? If you talk about something, you have to be informed.
“The sentence is 50 pages long, I don’t know how many have read them. You can’t make comparisons with different cases, like that of Simona Halep. But in the locker room, everyone knows that Jannik did nothing wrong.
“If I were a less serene player than Sinner, I would be worried knowing that I had no advantage, I did everything possible to avoid contamination, and yet I still risk disqualification.”
Sinner downed Alex de Minaur in straight sets in his opening match at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin, and he will take on Taylor Fritz in his second round robin contest.
