Jannik Sinner revealed that the decision to accept the three-month doping ban was made quickly despite “not fully agreeing to it.”
The Italian held the Australian open title this January. Then in February he accepted the 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 less evil, and I believe that’s what I did. Even if it sometimes seems a little unfair, it’s all I live in, but if it looks at things from a different perspective, it could have been even worse. This is even more unfair.
The ban will pass in time for the sinner to play at the next Grand Slam, the French Open in May.
The sinner is eligible to return to the Masters 1000 event, the home event held in Rome on May 7th.
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Jack Draper wanted the sinner to be okay after the Italians were banned for three months
“The decision to carry out the three-month suspension was pretty quick. We accepted it very quickly, despite not completely disagreeing with it. We went back and forth a bit with my lawyer and the people around me.” “After making this decision, it took us a while to find ourselves again.
“But I’m still here. I still have time to do all this, but I can’t wait to go back to Rome. It’s a special tournament for me.
“But let’s say I live a peaceful way every day.”
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Watching sinner defeat Alexander Zverev on straight set to hold Australia’s open title
The offender tested positive for the anabolic steroid Crosteborg in March 2024, but was cleared in August by an independent court that he found not liable.
WADA, which previously said it had requested a ban for a year to two years for offenders, called on the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in September against the decision, with subsequent hearings set for April 16th and 17th.
In the agreement reached in February, the sinner accepted the ban for just three months, but claimed that the decision still had an impact on him.
“I’m very fragile about what happened,” he said. “If I say I’m someone with no emotions or feelings, I’ll lie. In the life you learn, every year you learn more about your worth. It wasn’t easy and sometimes hard, but the people around me have given me the power to understand what happened.”
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Novak Djokovic said the majority of players he spoke to believe that the generous prohibitions he received on a positive drug test are unfair and that he likes the bigger name of the sport
He is not sure how other players on tour will react to his return.
“I can’t answer this question because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I know how things went, I know I’m innocent.
“In the end, I’m calm because I know that what I want to do is play tennis and be calm. That’s the end of the story. So, even if it takes a while to start with, I’m sure everything will be fine.
He still counts down his time back to competitive tennis.
“Why? Because I stopped doing what I always dreamed of. I’m in the best position to play this sport,” he said.
“I counted days at first, but now every day, as time approaches, I feel better physically and mentally.
“Even if I still have time, it’s a good opportunity to improve in areas where I struggle and in areas where I struggle, so let’s try and do something different.
