World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has praised his former trainer, Umberto Ferrara, as an excellent professional despite a doping controversy that led to Ferrara’s dismissal. Ferrara, who now works with Italian tennis star Matteo Berrettini, was implicated in a doping incident involving Sinner earlier this year.
“Umberto is really a great trainer; that’s all I can say,” Sinner said after defeating Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals. “He will surely do a very good job with Matteo, who has had so many physical issues in the past.”
Sinner, a champion at both the Australian Open and the U.S. Open at 23, split from Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi in March after testing positive twice for traces of clostebol, an anabolic steroid.
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Sinner’s explanation that the clostebol entered his system through cross-contamination was accepted. Naldi, treating a wound, had reportedly applied a spray containing the steroid, provided by Ferrara, which unintentionally led to Sinner’s positive results.
While Jannik Sinner avoided a lengthy suspension, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has since appealed the ITIA’s ruling and is seeking a ban of up to two years.
