Aussie tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and John Millman have very different personalities – and they are definitely not on the same page when it comes to Jannik Sinner‘s steroid bust.
Sinner, 23, has escaped a ban for failing two anti-doping tests in an outcome Kyrgios labelled ‘ridiculous.’
Millman disagreed, pointing out the tiny amount of clostebol – an anabolic steroid – the Italian had in his system.
‘Before jumping to conclusions, Jannik Sinner had less than a billionth of a gram in his system…..I believe him,’ Millman tweeted on X.
‘Maybe we should change threshold cater for contamination.
‘Finally why the uproar for this when we allow athletes in all sports, including tennis, to abuse Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) ?
‘Furthermore, the ITIA handled this 1000x better than the butcher job with Simona [Halep]…..Jannik is about as good a person that exists on tour.
‘At least read the report before you pass judgement.’
Aussie tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and John Millman have very different personalities – and they are definitely not on the same page when it comes to Jannik Sinner’s steroid bust
After Sinner escaped a ban, Nick Kyrgious labelled the outcome ‘ridiculous’ – fellow Aussie tennis star John Millman disagreed, feeling the Italian didn’t need to be suspended
A relieved Sinner declared his intention to ‘put this very challenging and hugely unfortunate period behind me’
Nick Kyrgios took aim at Sinner on social media questioned the use of ‘massage cream’
Millman’s tweet evoked a swift response from Kyrgios, who doubled down on his view.
‘Well at this point, players who do blow [cocaine] get more of a punishment then players who do steroids,’ he tweeted.
Sinner tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol during the Indian Wells tournament on March 10 and then again eight days later.
The Australian Open winner was provisionally suspended but successfully appealed and was eligible to keep playing on the ATP tour while the International Tennis Integrity unit assessed all the evidence.
Sinner’s explanation for the banned substance entering his system was due to his physio Umberto Ferrara using a spray that contained clostebol to treat a wound on the tennis star’s finger.
The 23-year-old’s team explained Ferrara had purchased the spray in Italy, one of the few countries that allows people to purchase products containing clostebol over-the-counter.
News of Sinner’s failed tests was announced on Tuesday by the International Tennis Integrity unit, who declared Sinner was at ‘no fault or negligence’.
However, Sinner was docked 400 ranking points as well as $250,000, the amount of ranking points and prize money he earned at Indian Wells.
The investigation found Sinner had a miniscule amount of clostebol in his system, equivalent to less than a billionth of a gram.
‘There is no suggestion the tiny concentration in his system would have had any performance enhancing effect,’ the tribunal said.
In a statement, Sinner said: ‘I will now put this very challenging and hugely unfortunate period behind me.
‘I will continue to do everything I can to ensure I continue to comply with the ITIA’s anti-doping programme and I have a team around me that are meticulous in their own compliance.’
