The case seemed settled. And even buried. It is no longer. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced via a brief press release on Saturday, September 28, that it had " filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who was found to be without fault or negligence by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after he tested positive twice for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024". The appeal was formally filed by WADA on Thursday, September 26, two days before it was announced to the media..The agency justifies its approach by the fact that, according to it, the conclusion " absence of fault or negligence" is not correct under the applicable rules. It calls for a one to two-year suspension of the Italian player, but without disqualification of any result. Jannik Sinner tested positive twice within eight days of each other: on March 10 at the Indian Wells tournament, then on March 18 out of competition, before the Miami tournament. In both cases, the tests revealed tiny quantities of clostebol, an anabolic agent. The Italian appealed. He claimed contamination by his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, who allegedly massaged him while he was treating a cut with a spray that contained the doping product, provided by his fitness trainer, Umberto Ferrara. Both men were ousted from Jannik Sinner's staff. An independent tribunal, Sport Resolutions, cleared the player, noting "no fault or negligence" on his part. As a reminder, Jannik Sinner was chosen by the organizing committee of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games as ambassador of the volunteer program.
