The current world No. 1 male tennis player, Jannik Sinner, tested positive twice for a banned synthetic steroid.
The incident happened in March this year and the Italian tennis player was only deprived of bonuses and points earned at a tournament in Indian Wells, California. However, he was not suspended because an independent court said it was not intentional.
The international tennis integrity agency announced the incident on Tuesday (August 20).
Sinner won the Cincinnati Open on Monday (August 19) and will be one of the brightest contenders at the US Open - Grand Slam will kick off in New York next week.
Sinner took the No. 1 spot on the ATP rankings in June and is considered the top stars of the new generation in men's tennis along with Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner, who turned 23 last Friday, was also crowned at the Australian Open in January to have his first Grand Slam of his career. He reached the French Open semi-finals in June and the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July, before missing the Paris Olympics due to health problems.
At the Indian Wells hard-court event in March, Sinner tested positive for low levels of the metabolic substance Clostebol, a banned synthetic steroid that can be used for ophthalmic and dermatological purposes.
Sinner tested positive 8 days later in an off- tournament test sample.
The Italian was suspended for those test results, but he successfully appealed and was allowed to continue playing.
According to ITIA, Sinner explained his test results were due to a member of the support team using an over-the-counter spray containing Clostebol to treat a small wound. After that, the group member gave Sinner a massage.
ITIA said it had accepted Sinner's explanation and determined that the violation was not intentional.
An independent panel held a hearing on August 15 and "determined that the No Fault or negligence judgment was applied in this case, leading to no time out of eligibility for competition," according to the ITIA.
