Yet, Sinner had to go even further to avoid even a token ban by showing that he had taken all possible precautions to avoid unwitting contamination, whether directly or indirectly through a member of his entourage.

Litany of similar ‘contamination’ cases

One of the cases the panel cited as “similar” to Sinner’s was that of fellow tennis player Richard Gasquet, who escaped a drugs ban almost 15 years ago after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accepted he tested positive for cocaine after kissing a woman who had taken the drug in a nightclub.

Contamination cases where suspension was not avoided were also cited, although they were limited to those heard by CAS, sport’s highest court, and did not include a near carbon-copy of the Sinner saga.

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In that case, Italian basketball player Riccardo Moraschini was banned for a year three years ago despite successfully arguing his wife, like Sinner’s physio, had used a spray containing the steroid clostebol on a cut finger that she had unwittingly transferred to her husband.

Moraschini was unable to demonstrate “no fault or negligence”, showing just how unusual it is for such a finding to be issued under World Anti-Doping Agency rules in which those to fail drugs tests are ordinarily held responsible for what is found in their blood or urine.

That includes boxer Tyson Fury, who accepted a backdated two-year ban from UK Anti-Doping six years ago after testing positive for nandrolone, despite always maintaining the result had been down to eating uncastrated wild boar.

The outcome of a UKAD investigation into the provisionally suspended boxer Conor Benn, meanwhile, is still pending after he put a failed drugs test ahead of his cancelled fight against Chris Eubank jnr down to having eaten too many eggs.

The complexity of contamination cases that can see one athlete banned but another get off virtually scot-free has long tested the faith in the anti-doping system of those subject to its rules.

The outcome of the Sinner saga is no different, having sparked an angry backlash from fellow professionals such as Nick Kyrgios, who branded it “ridiculous”.

Another to hit out was British doubles player Tara Moore, who served a provisional ban spanning 19 months before being cleared of being a drugs cheat in December when a panel ruled contaminated meat was the source of a failed test taken more than a year and a half earlier.

The cases of Sinner and Moore, whose exoneration has been appealed by the tennis integrity agency, has highlighted how those who can afford the most expensive lawyers are at a major advantage when it comes to clearing their names as quickly as possible.

Civil war between anti-doping agencies

Trust in the system had already hit an all-time low over the handling of the failed drugs tests by the 23 Chinese swimmers, who were let off after authorities in the country deemed they were most likely the victims of tainted hamburgers.

That was compounded by a decision to keep those findings secret and a failure by WADA to hold China to account for it, triggering a revolt led by Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency who brought down Lance Armstrong.

The civil war shows no signs of abating: WADA pointed out that there had been “several of these cases in the United States in the past few months alone, where highly intricate contamination scenarios were accepted”.

They include that of sprinter Erriyon Knighton, who was cleared to compete at Paris 2024 after it was accepted he had eaten meat containing a livestock growth promoter used legally in beef cattle produced in the US.

Knighton went on to finish fourth in the men’s 200 metres, only for the Athletics Integrity Unit to file an appeal against his exoneration with CAS.

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Teenaged synchronised swimmer Calista Liu also recently received a no-fault violation after it was accepted her father had been using eye drops containing the banned masking agent dorzolamide, which she absorbed from using his pillows and bedding.

At least she did not need to disclose intimate details of her life to escape a ban, unlike boxer Virginia Fuchs, who back in 2020 was forced to demonstrate a failed drugs test had been caused by two substances transmitted to her by her boyfriend during sex.

In stark contrast to the fate of the Chinese swimmers, the outcome of these cases were all made public.

The Telegraph, London