"Tennis needs Sinner": Goran Ivanisevic backs Jannik Sinner amid doping scandal

Famous tennis coach and one-time Grand Slam winner Goran Ivanisevic wants the authorities to leave the world number one Jannik Sinner ‘alone’ in his fight against the doping scandal. The 23-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, has gone through a difficult 2024 where he remained in the news for wrong reasons.

Sinner tested positive for banned substance on two occasions but surprisingly managed to escape the ban. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that they have accepted the player’s counsel’s response where it was claimed that the availability of the banned substance in the player’s sample in minimal quantity was because of receiving cream for injury treatment.

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However, the case became once again talk of the town once it was reported last month that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has lodged an appeal against the ITIA’s verdict in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). They also demanded a two-year suspension for the player. One-time Grand Slam winner and former coach of Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic, Ivanisevic, has recently spoken to Sport Klub, as quoted by Tennis 365, where he expressed his desire to see Sinner cleared from the scandal. The 53-year-old was of the opinion that the tennis world needs a player like the 23-year-old, who has won two out of the four Grand Slams in 2024, and also stated that there are people sitting in those bodies, such as WADA, where their primary purpose is ‘to destroy someone’s life’.

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“I sincerely hope they leave him alone and let him play. Tennis needs Sinner,” he said. “With Cilic, I had to deal with WADA and similar bodies, I’ve been there. There are many complex people who want to destroy someone’s life. I hope for a positive outcome for Sinner.”