Jannik Sinner has come in for criticism following his decision to rehire Umberta Ferrara as his fitness trainer with Nick Kyrgios and a former world No 1 expressing their dismay.
Nearly a year after Sinner decided to part ways with Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi following their roles in his positive doping tests in March 2024, the Italian has announced that the former has returned to his set-up with “immediate effect”.
Ferrara and Naldi were both let go after the world No 1 twice tested positive for clostebol, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
However, the ITIA found that the banned substance entered his system during a massage from Naldi, who had used a spray containing clostebol to treat a cut on his own finger. That spray was used on advice from Ferrara.
The duo left the Sinner camp ahead of the 2024 North American hard-court swing with Marco Panichi and physio Ulises Badi joining the team the following month.
Sinner, though, cut ties with fitness trainer Panichi and physio Badio ahead of Wimbledon and he has now decided to rehire Ferrara.
A statement read: “The decision was made together with Jannik’s management as part of the ongoing preparation for upcoming tournaments, including Cincinnati and the US Open.
“Umberto has played an important role in Jannik’s development, and his return reflects a renewed focus on consistency and performance at the highest level.”
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Four-time Grand Slam men’s doubles champion Paul McNamee was left astounded by Sinner’s decision.
“Jannik Sinner rehiring Umberta Ferrara has to be up there as one of the most astonishing PR moves in tennis history. You can afford to hire anyone in the world. Why oh why Jannik?” the former doubles world No 1 wrote on X.
A user replied: “If he stands by his belief that it was an honest mistake like they’ve claimed from the beginning, why wouldn’t he want to rehire him? Refusing to rehire him because a few idiots on twitter will cry would be silly.
“Willingness to rehire him more likely confirms there was no cheating going on, so does the fact that he’s still the best player in the world and even more physically fit than he was pre failed drug test.”
But McNamee stuck to his guns as he asked: “Then why did he sack him?”
Meanwhile, Kyrgios has not been shy about offering his opinion about the topic since the news broke in August 2024.
The Australian was outraged by the decision not to ban Sinner after he initially tested positive and, although the Italian served a three-month suspension from February until May this year, Kyrgios was adamant that it should have been longer.
And he added his two cents on the latest move, writing on X: “He got the same doc back we have been played ladies and gentlemen .”
The post Jannik Sinner U-turn called ‘one of the most astonishing PR moves in tennis history’ appeared first on Tennis365.
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