Tennis: Jannik Sinner denies having received "special treatment" four days before the end of his suspension by anti-doping authorities

The world number 1 was suspended for three months after reaching a "settlement agreement" with the World Anti-Doping Agency, for a positive test for clostebol dating back to March 2024.

"I've been criticized a bit about being treated differently, but that's not true. Nobody gets special treatment," Jannik Sinner said in an interview with Rai, broadcast on Tuesday, April 29. The world number one was suspended for three months on February 9 due to a test for clostebol, a banned substance, and following a row with anti-doping authorities, and is preparing to make his return to competition at the Masters 1000 in Rome, which begins Wednesday, May 7.

"I don't want to respond or react [to the critics ], they are free to say what they want and judge people. For me, what matters is that I know what happened, it was difficult and I wouldn't wish anyone to go from being innocent to going through what I went through , explained the transalpine player. There were so many hearings [by the anti-doping authorities] , I was tested perhaps more than the others. I really had a hard time accepting these three months of suspension, because in my mind, I did nothing wrong , he assured in this interview. In my eyes, when there is contamination as happened to me, or if you absorb something while eating without realizing it as can happen and the doctors say that it does not give you more strength or lucidity, it is another matter."

Testing positive for clostebol in March 2024, Sinner explained the presence of this anabolic in his samples by accidental contamination, via a massage given by a member of his entourage. He was initially cleared by the Tennis Integrity Agency (Itia) , a decision that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to request a one to two-year suspension. In early February, Sinner and WADA reached an agreement for a three-month suspension that will end on May 4, an agreement criticized by several players , active and retired.

Under threat of suspension, the Transalpine looked back on this period which marked him: "I didn't feel like a player should feel on the court. We train to enjoy ourselves by playing great matches and this pleasure disappeared day after day." Winner of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year , he took the looks of others badly and even imagined "giving it all up" : " I wasn't comfortable in the locker rooms, in the tournament restaurant, the other players looked at me differently. I told myself that living tennis like that weighed on me a lot."

With four days left before the end of his suspension, Jannik Sinner is engaged in a media campaign to restore his image. Earlier this week, he announced the creation of his own foundation "dedicated to helping young people in Italy and around the world through education and sport."

At 23, for his return to competition, he will be putting down his racquets in Rome with the Masters 1000 which begins on Wednesday, May 7. He will obviously be counting on the support of a public likely won over to his cause three weeks before the start of Roland-Garros. He has won six of the last seven events in which he has participated (Cincinnati Masters 1000, US Open, Shanghai Masters 1000, Turin Masters, Davis Cup, Australian Open).