The World No. 1’s journey of atonement has taken an unexpected turn! Jannik Sinner has said goodbye to his sports trainer (Umberto Ferrara) and physiotherapist (Giacomo Naldi) in a decision that is veiled in mystery. The abrupt transition occurs during a turbulent time for Sinner, as his doping controversy unintentionally involved Naldi and Ferrara. But at the same time, rumours also point to a well-known addition that might forge a special connection between Sinner and former world number one Novak Djokovic!
The news of Jannik Sinner’s drug trials rocked the tennis world a day after he won the Cincinnati Masters. The matter had been quietly dragging on for a while, and Sinner, who tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Clostebol, made an appeal to ITIA claiming he was innocent.
According to him, his trainer, Nelson, treated his own injuries with a spray that contained Clostebol before providing Sinner with massages and therapy without the need for gloves. Sinner asserts that his positive test resulted from this unintentional contamination. The ITIA accepted his justification, characterising it as an inadvertent infraction.
He did not, however, avoid paying a fee! The 23-year-old athlete avoided a drug suspension but lost his Indian Wells winning money ($325,000) and points (400). No, that’s not it! Sinner promptly took charge of the situation and, on August 23, at a news conference, declared his separation from Naldi and Ferrara.He told the journalists, “I’m not feeling secure to continue with them because of these mistakes.” But now, reports claim, Sinner is about to name veteran Italian trainer Marco Panichi—who has a legendary history of working with Djokovic—as his new coach.
The seven-year collaboration between the trainer and the 24-time Grand Slam winner came to an end in April of this year. “Grande Marco, what beautiful years we’ve shared together. We achieved success, took home honours, and shattered records. Above all, though, I have relished our most “routine” training sessions both inside and outside of the gym, Djokovic posted on Instagram.
Panichi, though, is now resolved to work with Sinner to give him a boost and perform well at the next US Open. Right now, we’re waiting on an official announcement. Sinner has also stated that he will continue to work with his two coaches, Simone Vagnozzi and Daniil Cahill, in the interim. Nevertheless, during the same news conference when he announced his breakup with his previous trainers, the Italian player spoke up about everything.
When discussing his doping story, Jannik Sinner says, “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
He fought the ITIA silently for months while we saw him participate in the Indian Wells and Miami Open earlier this year. His performance on the court also suffered as he was unable to break through to the semifinals of any tournaments until June (at the Halle Open). He may now, however, exhale with “relief.” Although it’s not ideal before a Grand Slam, I am confident that I did nothing improper. I had to tinker with this in my thoughts for months already. I have always complied with the anti-doping regulations, and I will continue to do so.
The Australian Open champion went on to say, “0.000000001, so there are a lot of zeroes before coming up a 1,” in reference to the minuscule level of Clostebol present in his system, before claiming to be a “fair player on and off the court.” Sinner’s next goal is to better his US Open result from the previous year, when he was eliminated in the round of 16.
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