Tennis controversy: Jannik Sinner rehires Umberto Ferrara, the fitness trainer implicated in his doping case.

World number 1 Jannik Sinner is set to return to training with Umberto Ferrara, the fitness coach he fired in mid-2024 after the Italian player's positive test for an anabolic steroid was revealed.

"Jannik Sinner has hired Umberto Ferrara as his fitness coach with immediate effect," Avima, the company that represents the recent Wimbledon champion, wrote in a press release.

Since Sinner's positive test for clostebol was revealed mid-last year, the world number 1 has continued to proclaim his innocence, claiming he had been contaminated by a massage performed by a member of his team.

The case caused a stir in tennis and rocked the circuit for almost a year, with some players complaining that the positive tests were announced late (made in March 2024 and not made public until August of that year) and the leniency of the sanctions.

The accidental origin of the contamination was admitted by the anti-doping authorities and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) punished Sinner with a suspension agreed with him and reduced to three months , to be served between February and May 2025, for his responsibility regarding the acts of his collaborators.

Sinner fired Umberto Ferrara and his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi when the positive tests became public .

In November 2024, during the season-ending ATP Masters, Sinner called Ferrara an "excellent coach."

According to the sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport , Ferrari admitted in April that he had been using a spray containing clostebol "for years" and that it had been prescribed to him "by a specialist doctor to treat a chronic condition."

"I didn't give it to Naldi; I suggested he use it to treat a cut that wouldn't heal and was complicating his work. I was very clear about the nature of the product and that under no circumstances should he come into contact with Jannik . I only authorized its use in my personal bathroom," Ferrara said of the case.

The decision to rehire the fitness trainer was made "in full agreement with Jannik's management team and as part of the preparations (...) for the Cincinnati Masters 1000 and the US Open," Avima explained.

" Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development ," the company stressed.

In recent months, Sinner has worked with Novak Djokovic's former fitness coach, Marco Panichi, and physiotherapist Ulises Badio.

Just before Wimbledon, the Italian tennis player announced the end of his collaboration with both of them.