“I would have been suspended for four years”– Alexander Bublik on Jannik Sinner’s doping suspension

After Jannik Sinner’s controversial three-month suspension for testing positive in a doping test, Alexander Bublik weighed in on the situation, stating, "I would have been banned for four years" if he had been the one to test positive.

The controversy surrounding the suspension of the world No. 1 has not subsided, with several players and former professionals reacting. Among them is world No. 48 Alexander Bublik, who commented on the agreement Sinner reached for his suspension, saying, "If we could all negotiate like Sinner does, it would be fantastic."

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"If there is an opportunity to negotiate, it should be available to everyone. They directly said they had reached an agreement. How? With whom? So can we also negotiate? I think I would have been suspended for four years. And all of us, together."

More and more players are joining in to criticize what they perceive as an unfair treatment of Sinner, given his high-profile status as the world No. 1 and a three-time Grand Slam champion.

The Kazakh also added that negotiations should be an option for all suspended players. "Everyone should have the opportunity to reach an agreement. There is no transparency at all. We have no idea what is really going on."

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But Bublik went even further, addressing the impact on players who lost to Sinner in various tournaments and how they might feel about the suspension. "If I were in a position where I had lost two or three Grand Slam finals to him, I’d be upset."

The head-to-head record between Bublik and Sinner stands at 3-1 in favor of the Italian. They last faced each other in the quarterfinals of Halle 2023, where Bublik won 7-5, 2-0 after Sinner retired. The Kazakh went on to win the title, defeating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the final.

Bublik’s next challenge will be at the ATP 500 Dubai Tennis Championships, starting on February 24, following his loss today to Andrey Rublev in the ATP 500 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, 6-3, 6-4.

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