“Umberto is excellent”, Sinner raves about his former physical trainer

World No.1 Jannik Sinner presented this Thursday on the sidelines of the ATP Masters Umberto Ferrara, his former physical trainer from whom he separated due to the resounding doping affair in which he is involved, as “an excellent preparer”. Ferrara joined the management of Matteo Berrettini, former world No.6 who is 35th in the ATP rankings, a decision which surprised and caused a certain stir in Italy.

“Umberto is really an excellent trainer, that’s all I can say. He will surely do a very good job with Matteo who has had so many physical problems in the past.said Sinner after his victory against Russian Daniil Medvedev, his third in as many matches in the “masters tournament” 2024.

Just before the US Open, which he won, Sinner, 23, had parted ways with Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi for their role in Sinner’s two positive doping tests for an anabolic steroid. in March. The Italian had explained to the International Agency for Tennis Integrity (Itia) that the trace amounts of clostebol found in his urine were due to “contamination by a member of his staff (Naldi, Editor’s note), who had applied an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to his own hand to treat a small wound”.

Cleared but not out of the woods yet

Itia accepted Sinner’s explanations and officially cleared him, which sparked outraged reactions from some players, including Australian Nick Kyrgios. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed last month against Itia’s decision and is demanding one to two years of suspension. “I have already been in this position three times, with three auditions and each time, it has worked out in my favor (…) Clearly, it is not a pleasant situation to deal with, but I am very confident »he said about the procedure of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).