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Jannik Sinner - Roland Garros 2024

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Jannik Sinner was ‘wore down physically and mentally’ by doping suspension claims coach

Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
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Jannik Sinner has been defended by coach Darren Cahill, with the Australian describing his player as ‘a great kid’ after it was announced that he had failed two anti-doping tests earlier this year.Sinner was coming off the back of winning the Cincinnati Masters title on Monday, when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced the news of the Italian’s trials and tribulations over the past five months. At Indian Wells back in March, Sinner was found to have prohibited substance clostebol in his system, which is a performance enhancing steroid. The clostebol was still in Sinner’s system when he underwent another anti-doping test eight days later, with the 23-year-old claiming that there was less than a billionth of a gram found in his body.
As a result, the World No.1 was provisionally suspended, but had this overturned after he appealed the suspension on the grounds that it was a contamination. Sinner and his team claim that the clostebol made its way into his body after his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi gave him a massage using his bare-hand, that had been applied with an over the counter spray that contained the steroid. This appeal was accepted by the ITIA and Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing, but has still been docked 400 ranking points and $325,000 earned in prize money for reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells. And now Darren Cahill, who has coached Sinner since July 2022, has explained the toll that this ordeal has had on his player over the past few months. “You would have seen a big change in his physicality and excitement to be on the court, it wore him down physically and mentally, he got tonsillitis (and) missed the Olympics,” Cahill told ESPN. “We are not looking for any sorrow. Just thankful there is no ban attached.” Cahill continued, “But I just want to stress that Jannik is a great kid, he’s incredibly professional, he’s maybe the most professional young man that I’ve had the chance to work with. “He would never, ever intentionally do anything and he’s just in a situation which is incredibly unfortunate and the truth came out, exactly what happened.There’s no fault, no negligence and hopefully he can get this behind him now and continue to play and get better.”
Sinner will return to action next week at the US Open, with the main draw getting underway on Monday 26th August.
Inside the baseline…It is such a complicated situation, and it has likely been a very stressful period for Jannik Sinner and the rest of his team. However, it is also very understandable how much frustration there is surrounding this situation, with so many other players not having the chance to play out their cases in private. It will be very interesting to see how Sinner handles all of this in New York, as his title in Cincinnati now feels light years away, despite the final only taking place two days ago.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner ‘should be gone for two years’ after failed doping tests claims Nick Kyrgios
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