Jannik Sinner\u2019s former physical trainer Umberto Ferrara has shed further light on the Italian star\u2019s doping saga as he spoke for the first time since he was fired over his role in the positive tests.<\/p>\n
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced in February that Sinner<\/a> had been suspended from tennis for three months for failing two doping tests in March 2024.<\/p>\n The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that Sinner would not serve a ban as he carried \u201cno fault or negligence\u201d after testing positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol during and after last year\u2019s Indian Wells Masters.<\/p>\n An independent tribunal accepted Sinner\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n However, WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the verdict in September as they sought to impose a ban of between one and two years on the world No 1.<\/p>\n The appeal was set to be heard at CAS in April, but WADA confirmed it had reached an agreement with Sinner\u2019s legal team for the Italian to serve a suspension from February 9 to May 4. Following the ITIA\u2019s ruling in August, Sinner parted ways with both Ferrara and Naldi as he pointed to the pair\u2019s \u201cmistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to start with [saying] that they have been a huge part of my career,\u201d the 23-year-old said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made an incredible job, bringing a lot of success and then having a great team behind me. Now, because of these mistakes, I\u2019m not feeling that confident to continue with them. \u201cI was struggling a lot in the last months. Now I was waiting for the result, and now I just need some clean air.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport<\/a>, Ferrara\u00a0explained he uses the medication containing clostebol and blamed Naldi for the mistake that led to Sinner\u2019s positive tests.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been using it for years as prescribed by a specialist as a support drug for a chronic disease,\u201d Ferrara said. \u201cI was perfectly aware of the ban and I have always kept it with the utmost caution, in my personal beauty case. I could have needed it for my pathology and to have it available, being abroad.<\/p>\n Exclusive: Jannik Sinner\u2019s rivals warned Italian is \u2018going to play well\u2019 on return from suspension<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Tennis rocked by fresh row as Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Swiatek demand more money<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t give anything to Naldi, I suggested using it because he had a cut on his finger that wouldn\u2019t heal and made his job difficult. \u201cI was very clear in communicating to Naldi the nature of the product and the need for it not to come into contact with Jannik for any reason.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, I allowed its use only inside my personal bathroom. Naldi didn\u2019t deny having been informed, but said he didn\u2019t remember.\u201d The Italian, who\u00a0is\u00a0now working with Matteo Berrettini, also revealed his\u00a0reaction to the news of Sinner failing doping tests.<\/p>\n \u201cDisbelief and amazement. Hearing about clostebol, the connection with Trofodermin (the medication) was immediate,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a few hours, we reconstructed the steps that led to Jannik\u2019s contamination and I provided evidence of the purchase of the spray at a pharmacy in Bologna.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferrara added: \u201cWith hindsight, it\u2019s easy to say that I wouldn\u2019t do the same things again. I certainly wouldn\u2019t rely on the behaviour of others. \u201cI was hurt by the superficiality, sometimes aggravated by bad faith, with which many people treated my position in the affair.\u201d<\/p>\n The physical trainer also praised Sinner for the way he has dealt with the ordeal. \u201cDespite his 23 years, he has shown an extraordinary maturity in dealing with the situation, in my opinion supported by the correct belief of being right,\u201d\u00a0Ferrara said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a special work ethic and dedication, this approach leads him to continually raise the bar. Working with Jannik is rewarding and stimulating. \u201cThe last time we saw each other was in Doha and we said goodbye. I was very saddened by the end of the relationship, but I was aware that it could be one of the possible epilogues.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek failed drug tests \u2013 inside story on tennis anti-doping programme<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n The post Jannik Sinner\u2019s ex-physical trainer finally breaks his silence on doping saga and makes major revelation<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jannik Sinner\u2019s former physical trainer Umberto Ferrara has shed further light on the Italian star\u2019s doping saga as he spoke for the first time since he was fired over his role in the positive tests. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced in February that Sinner had been suspended from tennis for three months for failing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}ATP Tour News<\/h2>\n