Jannik Sinner, one of the only players with a stark clean history on the Tour, has finally stepped into the gray area. Not long after winning the Cincinnati Open title yesterday, news broke that the ITIA had been investigating him for doping in March at Indian Wells. After an independent tribunal ruled him innocent but with a loss of ranking points and prize money from the BNP Paribas Open, Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has come forward to say his piece.

On a recent appearance on ESPN, Cahill firmly stated, “Jannik would never do anything like that intentionally. It’s an unfortunate situation, but the truth came out.” The Australian coach has been working with the Italian star since June 2022. “You would have seen a big change in his physicality and excitement to be on the court, it wore him down physically and mentally, he got tonsillitis (and) missed the Olympics. We’re not looking for any sorrow. Just thankful there is no ban attached,” Cahill added.

It was a case of unknowns – Sinner’s physio Giacomo Naldi had used an over-the-counter spray containing Clostebol to treat a cut on his own finger. Then he treated Sinner without gloves, and there the dominos began falling. But Sinner will be allowed to play the US Open as an independent tribunal has ruled that the World No. 1 bears “no fault or negligence” in this situation.

The investigation had been going on since March but it came to light only after the independent tribunal let Jannik Sinner off. People have different points of view as always, with some pointing out that the player shouldn’t have been allowed to play until his innocence was proven.

While the debate continues, Cahill also revealed that he and Vagnozzi were only made aware of the situation after Miami and they immediately appealed against the ban. Meanwhile, many players have criticized the ruling of the independent tribunal, including Nick Kyrgios, Liam Broady, and Denis Shapovalov. “Different rules for different players,” pointed out Shapovalov on X. But Sinner has not escaped completely scot-free.

As mentioned before, he will be stripped of his 400 ranking points and $325,000 in prize money from the semifinals of Indian Wells. But whatever the situation, he has his team by his side. But this latest scandal might affect Sinner’s reputation despite all the support he has got around him, including his coach Darren Cahill.

“He believes that one day the ultimate success will come to him”: Darren Cahill on Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner has achieved a lot of firsts for his country. He became the first player from Italy to reach the No. 1 ranking in singles. It was all thanks to the hard work he had put in since his teenage years, staying away from his loved ones in pursuit of his passion. His team had become his new family.

And in that team was Darren Cahill, who saw potential in Sinner to go beyond his limits. “I think that there are a lot of young players at the moment on the men’s Tour that are exciting to watch and certainly exciting to work with,” Cahill told ATP.com last year.

“Jannik is one of those players…He works incredibly hard, he has great discipline. He’s a good kid off the court, his family’s awesome and he’s been well brought up, he’s got his feet firmly planted on the ground, he’s respectful, and he believes. He believes that one day the ultimate success will come to him and he knows that you don’t get there without a lot of hard work. He’s prepared to do the hard work,” Cahill further added.

While these strong words of support stand in contrast to what the latest headlines say about the player, Jannik Sinner’s team is ready to weather any storm by his side. As he gets ready for the last major of the year, one thing is certain – Jannik Sinner would want to finish the season, just as he started – with a Grand Slam victory!