Jannik Sinner fires back: Responds to Serena and Djokovic after doping ban comments

Jannik Sinner responded to comments from Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic following his 3-month ban in the doping controversy. The world No.1 is preparing for his return within a week at the Masters 1000 Rome Open in front of his home crowd in Italy, which will be perfect preparation for Roland Garros.

After winning the Australian Open title, Sinner accepted a 3-month suspension in agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, avoiding a trial that could have meant a sanction ‘of between one and two years’.

Comments came from all over the tennis world, including the 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. The American stated ‘i love the guy, i love his game’, although she mentioned that if she had faced a similar case, she would have received a much harsher penalty. “If I did that (failed the tests), I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.”

Similarly, Djokovic – one of the founders of the Professional Tennis Players Association – stated that not all players in the locker room were happy with the resolution of Sinner's case. “There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process (for Sinner) has been handled.”

The Italian is preparing for his big return to the Tour, and the unavoidable topic is the controversial suspension, after several months away from the public eye. The 3-time Grand Slam champion spoke with TG1, where he addressed the comments he received. “Everyone is free to say what they want,” said Sinner. “Everyone can judge but that’s okay. I mean, for me it’s important that I know about what happened but above all, also what I went through and it was very difficult.

“So I really don’t wish that on anyone to go through something like that as an innocent because it was not easy. But we live in a. World where everyone can say what they want, so that’s okay.”

Sinner will return to the court at the Rome Open starting next week, after missing four Masters 1000 events in recent months. Nevertheless, he remains comfortably at the top, with a difference of almost 1,700 points from his pursuer Alexander Zverev. With not many points to defend, everything seems to indicate that Sinner could finish the clay-swing still at the top of the ranking without needing major results, considering the large number of points Zverev (title in Rome and final at the French Open) and Alcaraz (champion at Roland Garros) are defending.