We’ve all heard some wild excuses before—lost homework, missed deadlines, pets to blame.
But what if you applied that same energy to a top-tier doping case?
Believe it or not, that’s the kind of wild plotline that unfolded around tennis star Jannik Sinner, who is entering Wimbledon 2025 as the men’s top seed with quite the cloud hanging over his career.
The Curious Case of the Contaminated Spray
Let’s rewind to March 2024. Sinner, Italy’s golden boy, tested positive—not once, but twice—for clostebol, an anabolic steroid that’s banned in sport.
The substance isn’t something athletes are known to casually come into contact with.
But apparently, Sinner did.
So how did it end up in his system? The story goes like this: his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, cut his finger while rifling through the washbag of Sinner’s fitness coach, Umberto Ferrara.
Inside? A tube of Trofodermin spray, a common treatment for minor cuts… that just so happened to contain clostebol.
“I Didn’t Know It Was That Serious”
According to Sinner’s legal defense, Naldi, dealing with jet lag and a sore finger, applied the spray daily—unaware of what was in it.
Meanwhile, he was giving Sinner daily full-body massages, touching areas that had broken skin.
Sinner reportedly had no idea any of this was going on.
It sounds too bizarre to be true, right? But this version of events formed the entire backbone of Sinner’s case when anti-doping authorities came knocking.
Positive Tests and Fast-Tracked Suspensions
On March 10 and again on March 18, doping tests confirmed tiny traces of clostebol in Sinner’s system.
A provisional suspension landed on his desk on April 4.
But here’s where it gets jaw-dropping: his legal team managed to get it lifted within a single day.
When the second test triggered another suspension on April 17, they pulled it off again—Sinner was back in just a week.
The Bigger Problem: Who Gets Fair Treatment?
For context, this is unheard of. Doping cases usually stretch on for months, sometimes years.
Take Tara Moore, for example—a British doubles player who spent 19 months suspended before being cleared after proving she’d eaten contaminated meat in Colombia.
Sinner? He missed just eight days across two suspensions.
That lightning-fast turnaround raised a lot of eyebrows—especially among lower-ranked players who don’t have teams of high-powered lawyers or the same level of visibility.
Three-Month Ban, Perfectly Timed
Eventually, the case was reviewed again in February, and the World Anti-Doping Agency settled on a three-month ban for Sinner.
Conveniently, this punishment didn’t interfere with any major tournaments.
It landed right between the Australian Open and the French Open.
By then, the damage to transparency was already done.
The idea that big-name athletes get preferential treatment wasn’t new—but this case poured gasoline on that fire.
Sinner’s Career Keeps Soaring
And just like that, Sinner bounced back. Since March 2024, he’s gone on to win two Grand Slams, and his epic battle with Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open has already become one for the history books.
For many fans, that’s reason enough to move on.
But for others, especially those who remember that tennis used to take doping seriously, it all feels a bit… too easy.
Wimbledon Welcomes Him Anyway
Now, as Sinner gears up for Wimbledon, he’s still being treated like the star of the show.
And why wouldn’t he be? He’s charismatic, talented, and part of a potentially iconic rivalry with Alcaraz.
Still, some of us can’t help but root for the other guy.
Cricket’s Reminder That Sport Can Still Be Pure
Switching gears for a moment—if you caught the final two days of England’s Test against India at Headingley, you know real sport is alive and well.
No quick fixes, no shortcuts—just gritty, gripping cricket that rewards patience and heart.
When Money Talks in Boxing
On a more frustrating note, boxing’s credibility took another hit with news that Manny Pacquiao, now 46 and long retired, has been sanctioned by the WBC to fight again.
It’s the latest reminder that for some sports bodies, the fee is all that matters.