Jannik Sinner’s former physio breaks silence on doping saga

One of the biggest sporting stories of 2024 has taken a new twist.

Physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, who was widely blamed for Jannik Sinner failing two drug tests in March, has shot down the notion he was the sole culprit for the World No. 1 testing positive for a banned steroid.

Speaking at an event in Italy recently, Naldi said the general public had wrongly interpreted the Sinner doping saga and that the truth would eventually surface. 

“I hope, sooner or later, to be able to tell what happened to give a general picture," Naldi said, via Tennis365. "Because, from how this story has been interpreted by the general public, it seems that it was only my fault. But that is not the case, as anyone who has read the sentence knows. I realize that not everyone has made this effort.”

In the aftermath of Sinner failing two drug tests at the Indian Wells in March, the Italian claimed Naldi inadvertently contaminated him with the steroid while treating a cut on his finger. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) backed Sinner's defense and ruled that he bore "no fault or negligence" for the failed tests. Sinner would ultimately part ways with Naldi and fitness coach Umberto Ferrara by holding them accountable for his predicament. 

Despite his dismissal, Naldi holds no ill feelings toward Sinner and claims to have "a cordial relationship" with the Italian. However, Naldi is upset at being "insulted" by scores of Sinner's fans on social media who hold him responsible for the star player's ongoing dilemma. 

Naldi echoed similar views via a lengthy Instagram post in late August when he rued that there were "two paths to justice: the real one sanctioned by the courts" and the other "sanctioned by media."

The Sinner doping saga is expected to come to a head over the next few months. Shortly after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) called for him to be banned "between one and two years," the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Oct. 4 confirmed it had received WADA's appeal and arbitration proceedings had started, via BBC.