Jannik Sinner on accepting three-month doping ban: ‘You have to choose the lesser evil’ | Tennis News
Jannik Sinner has revealed the decision to accept a three-month doping ban was taken quickly, even though he “didn’t agree completely”.
The Italian retained the Australian Open title in January of this year. Then in February he accepted a three-month ban after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following two positive drug tests in 2024.
“In the end, you have to choose the lesser evil and I believe that is what I have done. Even if sometimes it seems a bit unfair, all that I’m living, but then if I look at things from a different perspective it could have been worse. Even more unfairness. This is the way it is,” Sinner told Sky Italy.
The ban will have elapsed in time for Sinner to play in the next Grand Slam, the French Open in May.
Sinner will be eligible to return for his home event, the Masters 1000 in Rome on May 7.
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Jack Draper hoped Sinner was going to be okay after the Italian was banned for three months
“The decision to take the three-month suspension was rather quick. We accepted it quite quickly, even though I didn’t agree completely. There was a bit of back and forth with my lawyer and the people around me,” the Italian said. “After we took this decision, it took me a while to find myself again.
“But I am still here. There is still a bit of time to digest all this, but I can’t wait to be back in Rome. It’s a special tournament for me, even though it will also very tough. I’ll be back in a moment in which there will be already a lot of attention on me, and in Rome it’s not easy.
“But let’s say I am living every day in a calm manner.”
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Watch Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets to retain the Australian Open title
Sinner had tested positive in March 2024 for the anabolic steroid clostebol, before being cleared in August by an independent tribunal who determined he was not to blame.
WADA, which previously said it was seeking a ban of between one and two years for Sinner, appealed against that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September and a subsequent hearing had been set for April 16 and 17.
In the agreement reached in February, Sinner accepted a ban of just three months but insisted the decision still affected him.
“I was very fragile after what happened,” he said. “I would tell a lie if I said I was person without feelings or emotions. In life you learn, every year I learn more about myself, also about my value. It was not easy, very hard at times, but the people around me gave me the strength to understand what had happened.”
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Novak Djokovic said the majority of the players he spoke to felt the lenient ban Sinner received for a positive drugs test was unfair and believed there was favouritism for the bigger names in the sport
He remains unsure how other players on the tour will react to his return.
“I can’t answer this question as I don’t know what could happen,” he said. “I know how things went, I know I am innocent.
“I am calm because in the end I know that what I want to do is to play tennis and be serene. That’s the end of the story. So, I am sure all will go well, even if at the beginning it will take a while to start over. These are questions I don’t know how to answer.”
He is still counting down the time to his return to competitive tennis.
“Why? Because I stopped doing what I always dreamed of doing. I am in the best position to play this sport,” he said.
“At the beginning I counted the days, but now every day that goes by, as the time gets closer, I feel better physically and mentally.
“Even if there is still time, it is a good opportunity for me to improve in those areas in which I had difficulties, on a surface on which I struggle. So, let’s try to do something different. Hopefully it works otherwise we will have more time to try again.”
