World number one Jannik Sinner, who avoided a suspension despite failing two drug tests, reiterated that the banned substance entered his system by accident.
And on Friday, he acknowledged he had split with the staff member who gave it to him.
The Italian manager fired both fitness coach Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Nardi after they were determined to be the cause of the positive tests in March.
“Because of these mistakes, I don’t have the confidence to continue now,” said Sinner, 23. “All I need now is clean air. I’ve been struggling so much these last few months, I’ve been waiting for the results and now I just need clean air.”
Sinner has a chance to be a breath of fresh air at this year’s U.S. Open as the top seed.
He won a title in Cincinnati and, more importantly, enters the tournament free of a suspension.
This was the player’s first meeting with reporters since the International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) announced his doping test results and ruling on Tuesday.
Sinner tested positive for low levels of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, in tests on March 10 and 18.
But the ITIA said an independent committee held a hearing on August 15 and found that the traces of the substance were “the result of contamination by a member of the support team who was applying a commercially available spray containing clostebol to his own skin to treat minor wounds”.
Ferrara purchased the spray and Nardi used it on himself before massaging Sinner, contaminating him.
“Of course I was worried because it was the first time for me and hopefully it would be the last time I’d be in this situation,” Sinner said. “Also, you have to check how much you have left in your body, and the amount you have in your body is 0.000000001, so there are a number of zeros before you get to one. So, of course I was worried because I’m a player who has always been very careful in this regard. I believe I’m a fair player on and off the court.”
But will his opponents see him as fair? Or the process?
He insists there are “no shortcuts, no special treatment” because of his ranking, but Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov have criticised what they see as a double standard.
“Obviously, I understand it’s frustrating for the other guys,” said Sinner, who could face an American in three of the first four rounds and opens the match on Tuesday against American Macky McDonald.
He knows his reputation could be damaged.
“Some things may change, but anyone who knows me well knows I’ve never done anything against the rules and I never will,” Sinner said. “We’ll see what happens. I know who’s a friend here and who’s not, because my friends know I would never do that and I’m in it together. Reputation-wise, we’ll see what happens, right? That’s something I can’t really control, so we’ll see what happens.”
