Bertolucci Calls Out Pellegrini After Her Comments on Sinner: "She Said Nonsensical and Absurd Things"

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 26/04/2025 à 07h04

2 min to read

Bertolucci Sinner

In recent weeks, professional swimmer Federica Pellegrini has been highly critical of the doping case involving Jannik Sinner.

The world No. 1 is currently suspended for three months due to negligence by members of his team after testing positive for clostebol at Indian Wells in early 2024.

The Italian will be able to return to competition starting May 4 and will make his comeback at the Rome Masters 1000 in the coming days. Pellegrini, the Olympic champion in the 200m freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Games, had harshly criticized the handling of the Sinner case, claiming he was treated differently from 99% of other athletes.

The 36-year-old Italian also asserted that it was Sinner’s responsibility if his physiotherapist applied a cream to him, with all the risks that entails. Former Italian tennis player Paolo Bertolucci was outraged by the swimmer’s remarks and responded to her in recent hours for *World Tennis Italia*.

"Pellegrini was wrong. She said nonsensical and absurd things, and the fact that they came from someone who is part of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) makes it doubly serious.

She claimed Jannik was responsible if the physiotherapist used a cream on him. But that’s absolutely not true, because the physio did not use any cream on Sinner.

Jannik was contaminated by a substance on the physiotherapist’s finger and was penalized for something no one has ever been charged with before. This isn’t the first time Federica Pellegrini has spoken ill of Jannik, but he’s stronger than the criticism and has already proven it. He’s from another planet," Bertolucci stated.