I Took A Deeper Dive Into The Jannik Sinner Situation...

We are entering into the second week of the  2024 US Open and although the controversy   surrounding Jannik Sinner's failed doping  tests appears to have died down a bit, it   seems to me that many players and fans were left  unsatisfied with how the whole thing played out. I touched on the subject a bit last week,  but then I noticed that opinions were split   and there was some pushback because I didn't go  into the situation extensively. I spent more than   half of the video on the Cincinnati Open recap  and barely spent a couple of minutes covering   the Sinner situation. You guys probably wanted  a more robust answer, so here's what I'm going   to do. I'm going to dive into both sides of  the argument and break everything down in the   simplest way possible. No B.S, no  biased arguments, just pure facts. It's February 12th 2024. Umberto Ferrara, who  was Jannik Sinner's fitness coach at the time,   purchases a medical spray with  the brand name "Trofodermin". This   product is available over-the-counter  and does not require a prescription,   so Ferrara gets it in Bologna, Italy. Fast forward to March 3rd at Indian Wells in  California. Giacomo Naldi, who is Sinner's   physiotherapist, gets a cut on the little finger  on his left hand while trying to reach for a   scalpel in his equipment bag. The cut begins  to bleed and Naldi wraps a bandage around it.   Witnesses give conflicting answers on where and  when the cut occurs. Jannik Sinner isn't aware of   the cut until he sees a bandage. He asks Naldi if  he has used anything to treat it. Naldi says no. 2 days later, Naldi removes the  bandage and fitness trainer Ferrara,   who traveled with the Trofodermin  spray from Italy to the United States,   recommends the spray to help with the healing.  There's a clear antidoping warning on the   Trofodermin canister of spray. However, it has  already been removed from its packaging. Whyyy? Oh and by the way, Ferrara the fitness  trainer is also a qualified pharmacist   who is expected to know about the medication.  Naldi says that Ferrara did not give him any   anti-doping warning and that he had no  idea the spray contained Clostebol and   did not read the label. Ferrara argues that  he gave Naldi a clear warning about its use. Jannik Sinner isn't aware of the situation.  Meanwhile Naldi uses the spray from March 5th   to March 13th in his en suite bathroom. During  this period, he gives full body massages with   oils every day for an hour to an hour and a half  without gloves. Naldi applied 2 sprays of the   product on his hands and performs foot exercises  to help Sinner with an ankle injury on March 10. Sinner on the other hand, has a medical condition  called psoriasiform dermatitis, a condition that   causes itching which leads to scratching and  small cuts. Naldi cannot remember if he washed   his hands between applying the spray to his finger  and massaging Sinner. That evening, Sinner submits   two urine samples (primary and corroborative)  and both test positive for Clostebol. Okay guys, Let's pause here for  a second and address this part. Argument: Physiotherapists may have different  relationships with their players and may not   massage with gloves on a normal day, but  if you know you have a cut somewhere,   it's not that hard to wear a glove to  prevent exchange of body fluids. More so,   Naldi is supposed to be a top professional  who understands these things because you   could easily expose a player to blood-borne  infections and put their health at risk. For Ferrara, who is a fitness trainer and a  pharmacist, he should have known better not   to bring the spray anywhere near the team in  the first place. I should also mention that   the 33-page document revealed that there were  discrepancies between the date that Ferrara said   he got the medication and the available bank  statements that were presented. Assuming this   story is true, it appears to me that Sinner was  badly let down by his team. But also seeing that   there were some inconsistencies between Ferrara  and Naldi, at the end of the day, some fans   might lean toward what Taylor Fritz said about the  situation. Here's a snippet of what Fritz thinks. This is the first part of the discussion. It  is assumed that every player is responsible for   what goes into their bodies. However, when these  players hire top-level professionals, they sort of   transfer some of that burden to the professionals  depending on the details of their contracts. But Moving on to the next part… It's March 18th now and Sinner submits  another urine sample ahead of the Miami   Open. It also comes back positive for Clostebol. We are now in April and Sinner has been notified  of the adverse analytical finding (AAF) which   comes with an automatic provisional suspension.  But the player and his legal team respond that   same day with an urgent application for the ban  to be lifted and it is lifted the following day.   Two weeks later on April 17th, the second AAF  pops up and Sinner responds with yet another   urgent application. This time, the ban is lifted  on the 20th. At this point, Sinner is extremely   fortunate that neither of his short‑lived  provisional bans falls on a tournament week. A month later on May 30th, the International  Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) charges Sinner   with antidoping rule violations. And  about 3 weeks later on June 19th,   Sinner's legal team submits detailed  explanations about what went down. Sinner is then cleared of any  wrongdoing on August 20th. However,   he forfeits prize money and  ranking points from Indian Wells. Soooo. Why was Sinner allowed to compete?  The answer can be simplified in a way - He   was suspended twice but appealed against  those bans with the argument that he was   inadvertently exposed to Clostebol.  The fact that Sinner was able to file   an appeal that same day could mean that his  legal team was on top of their game. However,   there are rumors that he might have been  given an advanced warning before being   formally notified but like I said, I'm not  going to fuel any rumors or speculations. Now, a total of 10 in-depth interviews were  conducted by the ITIA's investigators and they   sought the expertise of 3 antidoping experts. An  independent tribunal also reviewed the details   of the case. The conclusion was "Sinner  bore no negligence and wasn't at fault." In assessing whether a player is at  fault, the ITIA considers the steps   that the player takes to make sure they  don't get contaminated. In Sinner's case,   he hired experts and tried to double-check  with Naldi if he used anything for the cut.   This alongside many other reasons factored  in the decision to free Sinner from any fault   because he couldn't have suspected that he was  getting contaminated despite his best efforts. Now let's talk about the levels of Clostebol  that were detected in Sinner's urine. The   concentration in the first sample was 121 pg/ml  which was adjusted to 86pg/ml under normal   specific gravity. The second sample had a similar  concentration of 122pg/ml adjusted to 76 pg/ml.   This is how performance enhancing drugs and their  metabolites are measured. The "One billionth of a   gram" argument is misleading, holds no water,  and unfortunately oversimplifies everything to   the layman. This then leads to false assumptions  because that's not how the concentration of PEDs   or their metabolites are measured. One billionth  of a gram in what quantity of urine? See the   problem? Basic biology also tells us that when  substances get into our bodies, most times they   go through a series of processes before getting  discharged. While the quantity found in Sinner's   urine at the time was not deemed effective enough  to cause any performance enhancement, you cannot   argue with all certainty that the levels could  not have been higher than that in his body. Also, for detectable systemic absorption, it is  likely that the steroid got into Sinner's body   through open skin cuts rather than transdermally  through his skin. I did come across a research   paper, which brought up cases of athletes being  contaminated with certain steroids via lip balm,   a simple massage, and even through  sexual contact. But there was a gross   lack of further studies on the subject of  contamination with Clostebol specifically. Let's pump the brakes here again and address  the question. Did Sinner bear any negligence   or fault? Personally, I think that it is  possible that Sinner genuinely didn't know   but that is only an opinion, not an argument. I definitely do not speak for everyone  but the trend I noticed was that more   and more people were critical of the  entire process and not necessarily the   player. This led to talks about preferential  treatment. But as you might already know,   Jannik Sinner is not the first person to  have successfully appealed a suspension. Recently 33-year-old Marco Bortolotti,  an Italian player ranked around 400,   found himself in a similar situation. He said  that he experienced hell for months and was   sympathetic towards Sinner. Back in October  2023 after a Challenger event in Lisbon,   Bortolotti provided an in-competition urine  sample which contained a metabolite of   clostebol. Bortolotti was notified  of the outcome but was eligible to   continue playing until February when  he was found not guilty or negligent. Just like Sinner, Bortolotti immediately  provided an explanation, which the ITIA   accepted after seeking scientific advice.  It took just eight days for the agency to   conclude on February 7th that Bortolotti  bore no fault or negligence. The nature   of Bortolotti's explanation was also  redacted in the ITIA's final decision. The reality is that a lower-ranked  player who found himself in a   similar situation also had his case resolved. Also, the fact that Clostebol is notorious  when it comes to doping might have played a   huge role in Sinner being able to avoid  suspension because it was very easy for   them to identify and verify the source of  contamination. For some of the other athletes,   it might have taken them a little longer to  find the source of contamination. In the last   4 years alone, 38 Italian athletes  have tested positive for Clostebol. But I know this doesn't answer all the  questions about preferential treatment,   so let's dig further. One of the reasons I think some fans feel like  there are double standards is because most of   us haven't always been familiar with the complex  antidoping rules. In the past every player seemed   to be guilty until proven innocent depending on  the case. These players were immediately hit with   lengthy suspensions and appeal processes.  I'm not sure who to blame here for the   lack of clarity of the rules before now. The ITIA?  Tennis organizations? Because just looking at the   hot takes from both professional players  and fans tells you that even the players   themselves haven't always been sure of what's in  the rule book, and I do not think that is ideal. There should be some basic understanding of  the existing protocol just the same way you   should stay on top of your hydration game with  Suckerpunch, our channel's presenting sponsor.   I've been starting to take my tennis more  seriously, and this has come with doing the   dreaded tennis workouts of running, fitness  and on court training, all stacked in the   same day. I've been using the Hydration shots  from SuckerPunch to get through the training,   and it totally works, preventing cramps and  keeping me going for hours. They are offering   an amazing 28% discount through the channel. Use  my code Courtside-Punch to activate it. I'll leave   the link down below. Thank you Suckerpunch for  partnering with us. Okay, back to the video. Sinner has since parted ways with Giacomo  Naldi his physio and Ferrara the fitness   trainer. However, Naldi didn't  seem to be too pleased with how the   whole thing played out. He put up this post on  Instagram probably feeling a bit screwed over.   And fans have tried to attach different  meanings to what the post was all about. But how does the whole thing affect  Sinner's reputation going forward?   I think you have to give props to Sinner for  how he's handled the situation so far. He   doesn't shy away from answering any questions  about his failed doping tests. The Italian   says that although it's not been easy, he's been  getting a lot of support from friends and family. But what do the top players  make of this situation? Frances Tiafoe didn't want to dwell too  much on the subject. Here's what he said. However, Fritz made an important  point which I agree with. Here,   take a listen. We all know that no two cases  are the same but the truth is that the rules   haven't always been so clear for everyone  to know. One good thing about Sinner's   case is that players and fans now have a  better idea of how this whole thing works. Djokovic also weighed in on the situation and also   suggested that the entire process  be standardized moving forward. Carlitos also had an interesting  answer when asked about Sinner,   which some fans might have misinterpreted. True to his reputation as someone  who gives one of the best interviews,   Medvedev recently talked about  the case and here's what he said. These are my takeaways from the whole situation. I think we should not be too quick to  pronounce judgment on players because   it's highly likely that we don't  know every single thing that went   on behind the scenes. What we can do  is to make arguments from both sides   based on the knowledge available and then  compare and come to our own conclusions. Secondly the tennis bodies have set a standard  and it would be nice to see them follow this   same approach for every player. In the  past and when I made that Halep video,   I was very critical of how many players end  up serving more time than they should have   or later prove themselves innocent  after initially being condemned.   How many times have we seen suspensions  reduced or even overturned? Of course,   the current system of antidoping isn't perfect,  so if the current cracks aren't fixed now,   there might not be future guarantees that  wrong suspensions won't happen again. Also, I think everyone's gonna move on  soon and this whole issue will die down   and then we can enjoy tennis like before.  While some people might have overreacted,   it's understandable. Of course, Sinner  totally understands the situation which   is why he says he'll talk to anyone he  has issues with privately if needed. Another question that popped up recently was about  Sinner skipping the Olympics. Was Tonsillitis   the only reason he missed the Olympics or did the  doping situation have a role to play in it? Sinner   responded by saying that his decision to skip  the Olympics was purely due to physical reasons. I find it very unfortunate for Sinner  that his career-best season so far,   is coinciding with what some might call a  "villain arc". He won the Australian Open,   reached the world number 1, already  has Masters 1000 titles this year,   and all that. The spotlight has been on him  and it may remain like that for a while. But Jannik is adamant that his situation brings  more clarity despite being tough. So far,   he has been smacking his opponents  in the early round matches at the   US Open and you can already tell  that his head is in the game. He   has done a great job in not being  distracted by the whole situation. It's definitely going to be hard for me to touch  on every single argument about Jannik's doping   situation and honestly, I don't even think  it's going to be worth it. But one thing I   also want to encourage is for fans not to tear  down players with hateful words despite not   agreeing with everything that has played out.  I'll admit it, these discussions aren't always   comfortable but I think it's totally wrong to  take out frustrations on a player especially   considering that most people have problems with  the process and not necessarily the player. From what we've seen on and off the  court, Jannik Sinner has been a balanced   and level-headed guy and while that might not  mean much when it comes to doping of course,   I think it's always a great idea for us to have  arguments in a respectful away in a way that   helps us to learn from each other. I'll let  you guys be the judges on this one. What do you   make of Sinner's situation, How the tennis  bodies handled it, and the reactions from fans   and players? And what does this mean  for the tennis world moving forward? We have the Discord Channel up and running and  if you want your comments and hot takes to be   featured on the channel, click the link in  the description and share your thoughts about   anything tennis. Also, if you have any tennis  topics or deep dives about players that you want   me to cover, let me know in the comments.  One more thing before you go.. SMASH that   subscribe button if you loved this video.  Until next time, keep going for the lines.