US Open champion Jannik Sinner introduced a new fitness coach and physiotherapist to his team on Monday after firing two previous staff members because of their part in a doping case.
Marco Panichi takes over as fitness coach and Ulises Badio as Sinner’s physiotherapist. Both Panichi and Badio previously worked with Novak Djokovic
The new recruits arrive in the wake of Sinner’s two positive steroid tests in March for the banned substance Clostebol.
Sinner said his former fitness trainer, Umberto Ferrara, bought a spray containing the steroid and gave it to Naldi for a cut on Naldi’s finger. Naldi then treated Sinner while not wearing gloves.
The doping case prompted a furore – and criticism from rival players including Nick Kyrgios – because it was kept secret until an announcement last month.
Sinner then went on to beat Taylor Fritz in the US Open final.
Sinner announced before the US Open that he had fired Naldi and Ferrara, saying: “I’m not feeling that confident to continue with them. Now I just need some clean air.”
Panichi and Badio officially started working with Sinner in Monaco on Monday and will travel with the two-time Grand Slam champion to upcoming tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai.
