LONDON - Italian tennis star and current men's world No 1, Jannik Sinner, has avoided suspension after testing positive twice for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024, citing transdermal contamination.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) released a statement Tuesday, confirming the player "bears No Fault or Negligence" after it accepted the player's explanation that the substance entered Sinner's system through inadvertent contact with a physiotherapist who used an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to treat a wound.

Sinner tested positive for metabolite clostebol in an in-competition sample at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, United States, on March 10 and a further sample, conducted out of competition eight days later, also tested positive for the same metabolite.

He explained that the substance had entered their system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound. That support team member applied the spray between March 5 and 13, during which time they also provided daily massages and sports therapy to Sinner, resulting in unknowing transdermal contamination.

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Sinner was twice provisionally suspended but the player successfully appealed and had the suspensions lifted.

The ITIA referred the case to an independent tribunal to "consider the specific facts, review any comparable anti-doping decisions, and determine what, if any, fault the player bore and therefore the appropriate outcome".

Following that investigation, the ITIA accepted the player's explanation as to the source of the clostebol and that the presence of the substance was not intentional.  This was also accepted by the tribunal," said ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse.

Although Sinner will not be banned, his results, prize money and ranking points from the ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, where the player tested positive in competition for clostebol, are disqualified.

The decision has sparked significant debate within the tennis community. While the ATP expressed relief that Sinner was cleared of intentional wrongdoing, some players, including Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov, criticized the leniency of the ruling, arguing that testing positive twice for a banned substance should result in a more severe penalty.

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This controversy comes at a crucial time for Sinner, who withdrew from the Paris Olympics in July and recently won the Cincinnati Open and is preparing for the upcoming US Open.