Sinner bids farewell to fitness coach and physiotherapist after doping case

Three days after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that world No. 1 Jannik Sinner had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, the Italian confirmed that he had parted ways with the two men at the heart of the doping case that rocked the tennis world this week. In a press conference on Friday, he said he was relieved that the news had come out after months of investigation.

In his first public comments, Sinner said he found comfort in knowing he never intentionally did anything wrong, but that he needed to distance himself from the trainer and physical therapist responsible for allowing the banned substance into his body.

“These mistakes don’t give me the confidence to continue,” Sinner said of Umberto Ferrara, his fitness coach, and Giacomo Naldi, his physical therapist, during a press conference ahead of the US Open. “I’ve had a really hard time the last few months. Now I’m waiting for the results and now I just need some fresh air.”

Ferrara and Naldi were part of the close-knit team that helped Sinner, the 22-year-old Italian, to the top of the sport.

“We have decided to part ways and will no longer be working together,” said Sinner’s spokesperson on behalf of the team. “We wish them the best of luck.”

Naldi had not accompanied Sinner to events since Halle, a grass-court tournament in Germany in June that serves as a preparation for Wimbledon. Ferrara had not accompanied Sinner since Wimbledon, which ended in mid-July.

Throughout those months, Sinner has balanced the stress of clearing his name through the hefty anti-doping trial with being the best tennis player in the world and winning real tournaments.

Sinner first tested positive at Indian Wells, where he lost in the semi-finals to Carlos Alcaraz (George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“It was a long process,” Sinner said. “I was always worried that it would come out at some point. In the beginning it was a different view, but then, you know, it got a little bit more complicated. I went through it, me and my team and the lawyers, I’m just a simple tennis player.”

Since testing positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, in March, Sinner has learned that being a top tennis player is anything but easy.

He was given a provisional suspension for each failed test, the first on March 10 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, and the second on March 18 during an out-of-competition test.

An independent tribunal convened by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that his two adverse analytical findings (AAF) for clostebol were caused by the actions of Naldi and Ferrara. It found “no fault or negligence” on Sinner’s behalf, but stripped the Italian of his ranking points, prize money and results from California. Two independent review boards, also convened by the ITIA, reached the same conclusion after Sinner appealed the two provisional suspensions that are mandatory in the event of an AAF.

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The review boards upheld those appeals, meaning Sinner could continue playing while he was being investigated. It also meant those provisional suspensions were not made public.

According to the tribunal’s full decision, released by the ITIA on Tuesday after a hearing on August 15, Ferrara bought a product called Trofodermin in Italy in February. It is a spray used to heal cuts and is available over the counter in Italy. Clostebol is one of the ingredients.

Naldi then cut himself with a scalpel he had used to treat calluses on Sinner’s feet during the tournament, before using the spray to heal the wound. He then gave Sinner a back massage and applied treatments to his feet. Sinner suffers from a skin condition that causes itching, and when he scratches himself he causes small cuts.

Clostebol is an old steroid that was once at the center of the infamous East German doping scandals of the 1970s and 1980s. It can help build muscle mass and speed recovery from intense workouts. Its presence in those healing creams available in Italy and other countries has been known for years to those who are aware of anti-doping information, especially among Italian sports figures who have tested positive for the drug for similar reasons.

Sinner said Ferrara has long taken great care in his work, especially when it comes to nutrition and medication.

When the ITIA told him he had tested positive, he went straight to Ferrara, certain that his spray was the cause.

He said they immediately went back to the ITIA with the explanation, which resulted in him being allowed to continue playing.

“We had to think about what would happen in the future,” he said. “They believed in me and in us, and that’s why I could have played.”

That was a relief, he said, especially since he knew he had done nothing wrong.

“I knew I was very clean, and I knew I always looked forward to being an honest player,” he said, though he knows the positive tests will inevitably leave a dent in his reputation; a dent he will carry into this tournament and perhaps beyond.

“It might change a few things, but anyone who knows me well knows that I have never done anything and would never do anything that is against the rules,” he said. “It was obviously a very tough moment for me and my team. It still is, because it is still quite fresh.”

(Andy Cheung/Getty Images)