Jannik
Sinner ended a splendid year with the
ATP Finals title, two Grand Slam wins,
and a total of eight titles. The world No. 1 earned an astonishing
prize money
of over $16 million in a controversial season due to two positive doping tests.
The Italian
tested positive for Clostebol twice in March but wasn’t suspended after an
investigation determined Sinner acted without intent. He was allowed to
continue competing until the ITIA cleared him in August, avoiding suspension.
Sinner's unprecedented earnings post-doping controversy
Recently,
the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed, seeking a suspension of up to two
years for Sinner, who has repeatedly insisted he wasn’t responsible for the
unintentional contamination. “Every player who gets tested positive has to go
through the same process,” said the Italian. “There is no shortcut, there is no
different treatment; they are all the same process.
“I know
sometimes the frustration of other players, obviously, but maybe because they
got suspended, they didn’t know exactly where it comes from, also what
substance, but the main reason is where it comes from and how it entered in his
own system.”
“We knew it
straight away and we were aware of what happened. We went straight away, and I
was suspended for two, three days. I couldn’t practice and everything, but they
accepted it very, very fast, and that’s why (he carried on playing),” Sinner
added.
Sinner won the Miami Open, two weeks after the positive doping tests.
WADA was
not satisfied with how the case was handled, as it was not made public until
five months later. “It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or
negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules,” they stated. “WADA is
seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not
seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been
imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
In other
cases, suspensions have been immediately issued upon the revelation of a
positive doping test. Players like Simona Halep, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and
Nicolas Jarry were suspended after their cases came to light, despite
investigations ruling out intentional doping.
Prize
money since the doping case
Since
testing positive, Sinner has earned an incredible amount of prize money. He won
$1,100,000 at the Miami Open, €274,425 for reaching the Monte-Carlo Masters
semifinals, and another €161,995 for his quarterfinals at the Madrid Open. His
semifinals at Roland Garros awarded him €650,000.
Later, he
claimed €421,790 in Halle and £375,000 for his Wimbledon quarterfinals. During
the US Open Series, Sinner earned $170,940 at the Canadian Open, $1,049,460 for
winning the Cincinnati Masters, and $3.6 million for his US Open title.
A loss to
Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final added $374,340, followed by $1,100,990
for his Shanghai Masters title. To this, we add $7.5 million from the Six Kings
Slam and another $4.88 million thanks to his undefeated ATP Finals victory.
In total,
Sinner has earned $18,851,599 since the positive doping test, making him the
10th highest prize money earner in tennis history. His career earnings
now stand at $33,989,584 from official events.