Jannik Sinner narrowly keeps World Number One spot despite double doping violation stripping points

Italy’s tennis star Jannik Sinner has received a major boost in his bid to keep the top spot in the ATP rankings. The 23-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category along with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

Sinner has recently received a major boost in his bid to keep the top spot in the ATP rankings. He narrowly missed a bad after testing positive twice in the doping test on technical grounds. If he had been banned, he would have lost 1,000 points from Miami and also been banned from taking part in future events.

The decision received wide criticism from the players in the tennis community. Australia’s tennis star Nick Kyrgios was in particular very critical of the decision and demanded a two-year ban on the current world number one. “Ridiculous - whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice,” he wrote in a post on social media platform.

A statement ITIA statement explained how Sinner escaped the ban. “Sinner provided an in-competition sample at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, USA, on 10 March 2024, which contained the presence of a metabolite of clostebol at low levels,” read the ITIA statement. “A further sample, conducted out of competition eight days later, also tested positive for the same metabolite – again at low levels.

“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. That support team member applied the spray between 5 and 13 March, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknowing transdermal contamination. Following consultation with scientific experts, who concluded that the player’s explanation was credible, the ITIA did not oppose the player’s appeals to lift the provisional suspensions.”