Tennis world number one Jannik Sinner has been cleared of any wrongdoing for two anti-doping violations earlier in the season, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced Tuesday.
Sinner provided an in-competition sample at the Indian Wells Masters on March 10, 2024 which contained the presence of a metabolite of clostebol at low levels, according to the ITIA.
A further sample, conducted eight days later out of competition, also tested positive for low levels of the same metabolite.
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) August 20, 2024
"ITIA today confirms that an independent tribunal convened by Sport Resolutions has ruled that Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner bears No Fault or Negligence for two Anti-Doping Rule Violations under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP)," said the agency in a statement on Tuesday.
"The player explained that the substance had entered their system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound."
The ITIA added that the support team member in question had applied the spray between March 5-13 during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, which resulted in the contamination.
While the 23-year-old Italian has been cleared of any wrongdoing, he will be stripped of his results, prize money and ranking points from Indian Wells, in accordance with the anti-doping rules in force.
"I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me," said Sinner in a statement published on X.
"I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA's anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance."