Coach Darren Cahill defends “honest to the core” Jannik Sinner after anti-doping exoneration ahead of US Open

NEW YORK—With less than a week to go before the US Open, Darren Cahill would have expected plenty of media attention on Jannik Sinner, the player he’s coached alongside Simone Vagnozzi since 2022.

The world No. 1 and reigning Australian Open champion ranks high among one of the title favorites after winning his second Masters 1000 title of the year at the Cincinnati Open, but the top seed arrived in Flushing Meadows under a cloud of controversy when it was revealed that he had twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol.

Though Sinner was determined to bear No Fault or Negligence by the International Tennis Integrity Unit, the secrecy with which the affair played out—and the swiftness with which Sinner and his team were able to successfully overturn two provisional suspensions—has raised eyebrows from pundits and fellow players alike.

Sitting down for an extensive interview with ESPN’s Chris McKendry, Cahill, who has long worked as an analyst for the sports network, sought to explain the situation surrounding Sinner, a player the famed coach calls “the most professional young man I’ve had a chance to work with.

“He’s a good man,” said Cahill. “He’s been brought up with honorable parents. He’s honest to a core, and you can see that in the way he plays.”

Cahill gave a detailed explanation of how Sinner came into contact with the banned substance, which is commonly found in anti-septic sprays in Italy. Physical trainer Umberto Ferrara offered one such anti-septic to physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi after the latter injured his pinky finger on a scalpel.

“We are all really well-read in anti-doping and WADA rules. Umberto’s been in the game for 15 years. He’s got degrees, he’s owned a pharmacy in Italy. He’s worked with many players here. He’s in charge of Jannik’s anti-doping, his diet, his physical training: everything surrounding Jannik off the court.”

He’s a good man. He’s been brought up with honorable parents. He’s honest to a core, and you can see that in the way he plays. Darren Cahill on Jannik Sinner

While Cahill would not confirm whether Ferrara and Naldi would continue as part of Sinner’s team, he clarified that only himself and Vagnozzi were at the US Open with Sinner.

“We’ve really just been surviving day to day over the last few months. We’ll keep pushing forward and see what happened.”

Sinner released his own statement on Tuesday, one that spoke to the emotional toll of an ordeal that began shortly after he won the Miami Open in March.

“I guess if you’re not a Jannik fan, you may not have seen too much difference in what he was doing in the last few months because he’s still been playing quite well,” Cahill said of Sinner, who became No. 1 in the world and reached the semifinals of Roland Garros while waiting for a formal decision from the ITIA. “But, if you are a Jannik fan, you would have seen a big change in his body language, physicality on the court, his excitement to be on the court. He struggled, and it wore him down physically and mentally. He’s gotten sick a couple times; he got tonsillitis, which is why he missed the Olympics. So, we’re not looking for any sorrow or anything because we’re quite thankful that there is no ban attached, but I just want to stress that he’s a great kid.

“He’s in a situation that’s incredibly unfortunate. The truth came out, exactly what happened, and it’s no fault, no negligence. Hopefully he can get this behind him now and continue to play and get better.”

Asked to compare the delicate handling of Sinner’s case to the more public discourse surrounding Simona Halep, who tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat in 2022, Cahill noted the lack of clarity within the Romanian’s team—which, by then, no longer included Cahill and was instead overseen by Halep’s then-coach Patrick Mourataglou—when it came to the source of contamination.

“With Jannik’s case, they knew exactly where it came from. Within five minutes, they knew this could be the only possible place that it came from. They were pretty quick to get to Sports Resolutions to get that temporary ban lifted.”

Speaking to the idea that Sinner enjoyed special privileges as a result of his ranking and resume, Cahill said, “The one thing I will say is that it makes it a little bit easier for someone who’s highly ranked because you can afford to fight this case properly and fairly. I think a player ranked No. 300 or No. 500 or No. 1000 in the world, if they get into this situation, they don’t have the funds. I don’t know how much it has cost him to put together his legal team and get the experts. When they determined whether or not the story we said, and how the substance got into his system, the ITIA hired two of their own experts to go through and find out whether or not this story is credible.

“We had one of our experts as well, so three experts all said that it’s highly likely this story is correct. To do that, you have to have a lot of money to get those experts, so players who are not highly ranked can’t afford to fight their cases properly. But I think the integrity of how this case was handled, the ranking doesn’t matter.”

Cahill concluded with a sense of optimism when it came to Sinner’s legacy, believing this incident is unlikely to affect how he is perceived in the future.

“When you read through the entire statement and what he went through and how they determined him to have No Fault or No Negligence, I think you’ll understand it.”