Jannik Sinner tested positive for an anabolic steroid twice in March and was stripped of prize money and ranking points at the Indian Wells Masters in California, but the world No. 1 tennis player will not be suspended after an independent tribunal ruled the fouls were accidental.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed the information on Tuesday.
Sinner won the Cincinnati Masters on Monday and will be among the favorites at the U.S. Open, which officially gets underway in New York next week.
The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open in January, was eliminated by eventual National Bank Montreal Open finalist Andrey Rublev earlier this month. Sinner also won the 2023 National Bank Toronto Open.
Sinner rose to No. 1 in the world rankings in June and is considered one of the brightest prospects in men’s tennis, along with Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
During the Masters in Indian Wells in March, Sinner tested positive — in small amounts — for clostebol, a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone that can be used for ophthalmological or dermatological purposes. It is the same substance that led to San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. being suspended from Major League Baseball.
Sinner tested positive for the substance again eight days later after testing outside a competition venue.
He was provisionally suspended based on the results of those tests, but his appeal was upheld and he was able to continue his activities on the ATP Tour.
According to ITIA, Sinner said the results came after a member of his support team used an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to treat a small wound. The person then performed massages on Sinner.
ITIA said it accepted Sinner’s explanations and determined that the mistakes were accidental.
An independent panel held a hearing on August 15 and “concluded that there was no fault or negligence in this matter, resulting in no period of ineligibility,” according to the ITIA.