Jannik Sinner has defended his decision to reappoint Umberto Ferrara as his fitness coach – one year after parting company amid his doping case.
Ferrara and physio Giacomo Naldi were fired by Sinner last August, five months after he twice tested positive for a trace amount of the anabolic steroid Clostebol.
Sinner was initially cleared by an independent tribunal, but the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed against the decision.
In February 2025, it was then announced that while the positive drugs tests was due to inadvertent contamination, Sinner was to serve a three-month suspension.
Sinner won the US and Australia Open titles while the case had been ongoing, while he returned from his ban in May and went on to reach the final of the French Open, before winning Wimbledon.
The world No1 shocked many last month by announcing Ferrara would return to his team, after splitting with trainer Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio before Wimbledon.
Jannik Sinner reappointed Umberto Ferrara as his fitness coach last month, despite parting ways with him last year following his inadvertent positive drug tests
Ferrara, left, has returned to the world No 1’s camp at the ongoing Cincinnati Open
When announcing Ferrara and Naldi’s dismissal last year, Sinner had claimed he was ‘not feeling that confident to continue with them’, citing ‘mistakes’ that he led to his doping case.
Sinner had claimed in his case that he had been exposed to the banned substance Clostebol, due to a massage from Naldi.
Ferrara was said to have purchased a product in Italy and gave it to the physio to treat a cut on his hand. The massage on Sinner subsequently took place when Naldi wasn’t wearing gloves.
Speaking at a press conference at the Cincinnati Open, Sinner was pressed on Ferrara’s re-hiring which had highlighted his role in his development and cited a ‘renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level’.
‘It was a different situation, everything is different now,’ Sinner said when asked by Bounces whether he had regretted parting ways with Ferrara last year.
‘I felt like, in this moment, I need someone who knows my body a little bit more, because – but we said everything in the statement, so it’s all good.’
When asked by journalist Ben Rothenberg what he meant by ‘knowing his body’, Sinner responded: ‘We worked together since, two years, before this happened? His work gave me a lot of benefits.
‘We worked a lot in every department of my body: with mobility and stability, and also the wind of my body was getting better. So yeah, I feel like that he did a great job.
Sinner said he needed ‘someone who knows my body a little bit more’ and insisted ‘everything is different now’ when asked about his decision to rehire Ferrara
‘Also, [with] Marco [Panichi], I felt great, but maybe it was not the right thing. And yeah. So I felt always good with Umberto.’
Sinner then said ‘I don’t know’ when questioned about whether he understood why people were surprised by his decision to reappoint Ferrara given his public explanation for their split last year.
Ferrara had served as the fitness coach of Sinner’s compatriot Matteo Berrettini between January and June, before parting ways after six months.
Sinner’s doping case had become public knowledge shortly after his victory at the Cincinnati Open last year.
The world No 1 offered a guarded response when asked about whether he had memories or flashbacks from last year.
Sinner initially remained silent when asked the question, before responding ‘Uh, no. Not really’ when quizzed for the second time.
The defending champion remains on course to retain his title in Cincinnati having reached the semi-finals, with the Italian set to face the tournament’s surprise package Terence Atmane in the last four.
