"It allowed me to understand who was my friend and who wasn't": Jannik Sinner sheds light on doping scandal effects

Italy’s Jannik Sinner has revealed that the Doping Scandal has helped him understand who his real friends are. The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the best players in men’s tennis in the singles category, has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

Sinner was tested positive for banned substance in two doping tests in March earlier this year. Despite that, the reigning world number one managed to narrowly escape the ban as the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted his counsel’s response where they claimed that the availability of the banned substance in Sinner’s sample was because of receiving cream to treat an injury from one member of the coaching staff. The issue is now once again in the limelight as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lodged an appeal against the verdict in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

Sinner has been recently quoted in a report where he stated that the scandal has helped him understand who his real friends are. “I'm usually always in control but in this case it was easy to lose it,” he said. “After a few weeks I woke up and told myself that I hadn't done anything wrong, I didn't know anything, for me it had already happened. The most difficult moment was when the news came out, in a delicate moment, before a Grand Slam. We arrived at the courts and everyone had all cameras ready, I was looking at the other players to understand what they really thought.

“I asked myself a lot of questions - it was difficult to prepare for a Grand Slam like this. I am convinced that nothing happens by chance and it has allowed me to understand who was my friend and who wasn't. I realised that there are a lot of players who I didn't think were friends and others who ultimately are not. It was difficult when nothing had happened yet, they saw me with my head down and asked me: 'Why are you like this if you won?'. And what did I answer there? I said everything was fine."