World No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner previously tested positive twice for a banned anabolic steroid, but will avoid being banned, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced on Tuesday (August 20) via ESPN.
Sinner, 23, tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol, a banned substance used for ophthalmoglogical and dermatological use, during a tournament in Indian Wells, California, in March. The Italian was stripped of prize money and points earned at the event, however, will avoid suspension as an independent tribunal ruled that the steroid use wasn't intentional.
"I will now put this challenging and deeply unfortunate period behind me," Sinner said in a statement released on his Instagram account following news of the positive tests on Tuesday. "I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA's anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance."
Clostebol was the same substance used by San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. that led to his 80-game suspension in August 2022. Sinner initially tested positive at the tournament and again eight days later in an out-of-competition sample, according to ESPN.
The 23-year-old was provisionally suspended for the two tests, but successfully appealed and allowed to continue competing on tour. The ITIA said the low levels of clostebol found in the March 10 and March 18 samples were "a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound," according to ESPN.