Tennis star’s suspension overturned as player’s dad caused failed drugs test | Tennis | Sport
A tennis player has been cleared of doping after testing positive for clostebol (Image: GETTY)
A tennis player has seen his suspension overturned after his father was found to have caused his positive drugs test. Juan Sebastian Dominguez Collado, 23, was provisionally banned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in December. Two months earlier, he provided a sample that tested positive for clostebol, the same banned anabolic steroid that Jannik Sinner was found to have ingested in 2024.
However, it has since emerged that Dominguez Collado’s positive test resulted from close contact with his father. He provided evidence to the ITIA and his provisional ban was overturned, meaning he is now free to play again. The body confirmed the news in a statement, explaining the unusual circumstances surrounding Dominguez Collado’s positive test.
The statement reads: «In the days leading up to Dominguez Collado’s doping control test, the player was sharing living quarters with his father, who, on the advice of his physician, had been conservatively treating a condition with two separate clostebol-based products, multiple times a day.
«Dominguez Collado asserted that he and his father had regular physical contact and shared access to a mobile device.
«In addition, the player shared communal towels with his father, who stated that he had regularly used the towels to wipe his hands after applying the products to his body, as an alternative to washing after each application, further increasing the exposure to the clostebol residue.
«As part of the investigation, the ITIA sought scientific advice from the WADA-accredited laboratory in Montreal, Canada, where the sample was analysed, for expert views on the plausibility of the player’s explanation.
«Upon review, the laboratory confirmed that the player’s explanation was plausible based on the low level of clostebol in the player’s sample.
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«Having taken all evidence into account, the ITIA determined that the player’s explanation was more likely than not the source of the clostebol.»
Ultimately, the ITIA issued a decision of no fault or negligence, meaning Dominguez Collado is free to return to professional tennis.
He returned his positive test while competing in an ITF World Tennis Tour event in Kayseri, Turkey, last year. The sample was split into A and B samples and the subsequent analysis found that both samples contained a metabolite of clostebol.
The same substance was ingested by Sinner two years ago, resulting in the four-time Grand Slam champion being banned for three months.
He was initially cleared with a verdict of no fault or negligence, but an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) led to Sinner reaching a settlement and accepting a three-month suspension.
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