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CNN
6 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Jannik Sinner reappoints fitness coach he'd previously dropped amid doping suspension
Drugs in society Wellness Tennis FacebookTweetLink Jannik Sinner has reappointed fitness coach Umberto Ferrara to his coaching team having previously dropped Ferrara during Sinner's recent doping suspension. Sinner served a three-month ban earlier this year after twice testing positive for banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year. The Italian previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn't at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray to their own skin – not Sinner's – to treat a small wound. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4. The ban began just weeks after he won his third grand slam title at the Australian Open and ended before the French Open. Ferrara – as well as physio Giacomo Naldi – was let go in the aftermath of the ban's announcement but on Wednesday, a statement from Sinner's management team said he'd be rehired 'with immediate effect.' 'Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level,' the statement sent to CNN Sports said. The statement added that the rehiring was 'made in alignment with Jannik's management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments.' The decision to rehire Ferrara comes after Sinner let go of fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio from his team ahead of Wimbledon. Since returning from his doping ban, Sinner has reached the final of both grand slams at Roland Garros and the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The world No. 1 lost in an epic encounter to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros before getting revenge over the Spaniard at Wimbledon to win his fourth grand slam title. Sinner – along with other stars such as Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper – has withdrawn from the Canadian Open, which begins later this month, citing his need to nurse an elbow injury he sustained at Wimbledon as he prepares for the final grand slam of 2025, the US Open. Sinner is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows and could accomplish the rare achievement of reaching the final in all four grand slams in a calendar year if he makes it at the US Open.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Been played': Kyrgios lashes Sinner after world No.1 rehires coach fired in doping saga
Nick Kyrgios has doubled down on his criticism of Jannik Sinner, after the Wimbledon champion announced that he had rehired his former fitness coach who was involved in the Italian star's doping case. Sinner recently parted ways with fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio and re-appointed Umberto Ferrara, nearly a year after firing him following the investigation into the Italian's positive tests for a banned substance. Kyrgios – who is a vocal critic of doping in tennis – lashed out at Sinner on social media platform X on Thursday morning. 'He got the same doc back,' he wrote on X with a series of potato emojis. 'We have been played ladies and gentlemen.' Sinner's teams did not give specific reasons for why Ferrara was rehired, other than that 'the decision has been made in alignment with Jannik's management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments' and that he starts with 'immediate effect'. 'Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level,' they said in a statement on Wednesday. Last year, the world No.1 tested positive twice for traces of a banned anabolic steroid, which he said had entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy. He was ruled by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to bear 'no fault or negligence', but WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, Sinner ended up accepting a three-month ban for an anti-doping rule violation that did not result in the Italian losing any titles or prizemoney.
The Age
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Been played': Kyrgios lashes Sinner after world No.1 rehires coach fired in doping saga
Nick Kyrgios has doubled down on his criticism of Jannik Sinner, after the Wimbledon champion announced that he had rehired his former fitness coach who was involved in the Italian star's doping case. Sinner recently parted ways with fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio and re-appointed Umberto Ferrara, nearly a year after firing him following the investigation into the Italian's positive tests for a banned substance. Kyrgios – who is a vocal critic of doping in tennis – lashed out at Sinner on social media platform X on Thursday morning. 'He got the same doc back,' he wrote on X with a series of potato emojis. 'We have been played ladies and gentlemen.' Sinner's teams did not give specific reasons for why Ferrara was rehired, other than that 'the decision has been made in alignment with Jannik's management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments' and that he starts with 'immediate effect'. 'Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level,' they said in a statement on Wednesday. Last year, the world No.1 tested positive twice for traces of a banned anabolic steroid, which he said had entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy. He was ruled by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to bear 'no fault or negligence', but WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, Sinner ended up accepting a three-month ban for an anti-doping rule violation that did not result in the Italian losing any titles or prizemoney.
Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Jamie Murray voices Wimbledon warning after Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek wins
Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek claimed maiden titles at Wimbledon, less than a year after they both served suspensions for doping breaches, and that is problematic for tennis Tennis has an image problem after Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek triumphed at Wimbledon, according to Jamie Murray. Sinner and Swiatek claimed maiden singles titles at the All England Club less than a year after serving doping suspensions, reigniting a debate about how their cases were handled. Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 before Sinner overcame Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set match the following day. It was Swiatek's sixth Grand Slam title and Sinner's fourth and with the duo 24 and 23 years old respectively, they are likely to dominate the sport for years to come. That poses a potential problem for tennis, given their recent misdemeanours. Swiatek served a one-month suspension last year after testing positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a drug normally used as heart medication for its ability to enhance blood flow, while Sinner failed two drug tests after banned steroid clostebol was found in his system. The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted Swiatek's explanation that a batch of melatonin, a supplement she uses to manage jet lag, had become contaminated with TMZ. Her short ban was because the ITIA put her at the bottom of their 'no significant fault or negligence' range. Sinner claimed the presence of clostebol, which is a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass, was the result of contamination from his physio, who had been using a spray to treat a cut on his own hand. Nick Kyrgios has been among those to voice their concerns about the process and seven-time doubles Grand Slam champion Murray agrees. 'It's not a great look, right? The two champions of potentially the most prestigious tennis event having served doping bans,' he told Mirror Sport. 'It's more just the fact that it's not announced straight away that this is what's going on, so then of course people think there are cover-ups and conspiracy theories are going all over the place. Maybe I'm naive. I don't want to believe that people are cheating and trying to get an edge. I don't really want to think that about the sport that I'm in. 'I'm sure there will always be people that will try to bend rules and stuff but, the thing with tennis is it's such a skilled sport. If I started taking drugs tomorrow it's not like I'm suddenly going to be number one in the world. Of course, for those guys who are already at the top, like every little gain can make a big difference but I don't know. To be honest, I try not to think about it and to stress myself about it. 'Only they know if they did right or wrong, but I think it's probably not the best look. Stuff happens and if they're innocent then they obviously deserve to be out there competing. They served the suspensions that the relative authorities set for them. That's that. You have to move on and keep competing. 'The tour goes on, the show goes on, but it's not ideal having the number one athletes in men's and women's tennis both getting caught out with doping stuff. It's a shame. But I don't know in the larger picture how much effect that's having on them or on the sport.' Murray is still competing on the doubles circuit at the age of 39 and has no plans to retire, with the love of competing still burning bright. Things didn't go to plan at Wimbledon, where he suffered two first-round exits with Rajeev Ram and Emily Appleton, but the Scot recently earned himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. He and fellow Brit Laura Robson managed a rally of 101 shots while strapped to the roof of a car travelling up to 29mph down an airfield runway. 'It was a cool experience and obviously not something I'd ever done before so I didn't really quite know what to expect,' Murray said. 'We had to figure out how best to do it because we're both left-handed, so naturally you would hit forehand to forehand, but that means one of us would have to hit backwards against the direction the car is moving, so we had to figure that out. But I guess we did a decent job.' Jamie Murray and Laura Robson broke a Guinness World record by completing a rally of 101 consecutive shots as the Lexus NX became the latest court for the stars to play on.
Daily Mirror
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
British tennis star given FOUR-YEAR doping ban despite being cleared 18 months ago
The International Tennis Integrity Agency's appeal over the decision to clear Tara Moore has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and she's now been suspended British tennis star Tara Moore has been hit with a four-year ban for doping - despite being cleared 18 months ago. Moore, 32, had been allowed to play again following an independent tribunal last year. But the International Tennis Integrity Agency's appeal over the decision to clear her has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and she's now been suspended with immediate effect. Moore's ban will be reduced, though, as she served the first 19 months through a provisional suspension which began after the case came to light in 2022. The Hong Kong-born star was Britain's top-ranked doubles player at the time, having tested positive for nandrolone and boldenone during a tournament in the Colombian capital of Bogota in April 2022. An independent tribunal ruled that contaminated meat was the source of her positive drugs test and that Moore 'bore no fault or negligence'. The 32-year-old said that she'd been through '19 months of lost time and emotional distress', adding that her reputation had been tarnished as a result of the case. Moore returned to the ITF World Tour last year and was in the draw for Wimbledon, the US Open and featured at the Australian Open in January. She won't be allowed to return to the court until the beginning of 2028. A statement from CAS read: "After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS Panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat. "The panel concluded that Ms Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation) was not intentional. The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld and the decision rendered by the Independent Tribunal is set aside." ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse argued that Moore's explanation wasn't 'adequate', saying: "For the ITIA, every case is considered according to the individual facts and circumstances. "Our bar for appealing a first instance decision is high, and the decision is not taken lightly. In this case, our independent scientific advice was that the player did not adequately explain the high level of nandrolone present in their sample. Today's ruling is consistent with this position. "We understand that players and their support teams may have questions about this decision, and we will answer these fully once we have reviewed the details of the ruling." Moore's suspension comes at a time where the topic of doping in tennis has been intensely discussed. Both the men's and women's singles champions at Wimbledon, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, had served bans after failing drugs tests. It's the first time in Wimbledon history that both the men's and women's champions have served suspensions for banned substances. "I don't think it's a good look for the sport," Nick Kyrgios, who later posted an asterisk emoji following Sinner's win, said ahead of both singles finals. Italian Sinner had tested positive for low levels of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol in March 2024, earning him two provisional bans which he appealed against and had lifted within one and three days respectively. The 23-year-old was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent tribunal after they accepted that an over-the-counter spray to treat a cut on his hand had been inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), however, appealed against the panel's ruling that Sinner 'bore no fault or negligence' and said that it was seeking a ban of between one and two years. In February, shortly after the 23-year-old retained his Australian Open title, it was announced that Sinner and WADA had reached a controversial settlement which saw him banned for just three months. Six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek tested positive for heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in August 2024 and served a one-month suspension which ended in early December. The ITIA accepted that the Pole's test was caused by contamination of a regulated non-prescription medicine which she said she took for jet lag and sleep problems.
