We've come to the conclusion that it's not easy, every case has its nuances - Errani on Sinner's doping case

Italy’s Sarra Errani has come out in defence of fellow countryman Jannik Sinner amidst severe criticism from Australia’s Nick Kyrgios regarding a doping case. The 23-year-old is already regarded as the best player in men’s tennis in the singles category and has had a fabulous 2024 season, winning two out of four Grand Slams. He finished the season as the number one player in the ATP rankings, with a lead of over 3000 rating points.

However, despite achieving so much, Sinner remained in the news for the wrong reasons as well. The reigning world number one tested positive in two doping tests in March but narrowly managed to escape a ban after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the player’s counsel’s response where they claimed that the availability of the substance in the player’s sample was because of receiving a cream to treat an injury.

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That decision received widespread criticism from certain members of the tennis community, who demanded equal treatment for all players who were involved in such scandals. The most vocal among those people was Kyrgios. Italy’s women’s tennis player Errani has been recently quoted in a report where she defended Sinner amidst strong criticism from the former world number 13.

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"I don't know him personally,” she said. “He has a very strong personality and I've always liked him. Watching him play is a show. Thinking about my character, I shouldn't like him, but I like him. Lately he's made a few bad and unfortunate comments: in that case I didn't like him that much. I'm not just talking about what he said about Sinner. He made some rather strong statements. Then when you're not around and you play less... he seemed self-centered and I didn't like him that much. The Sinner's doping case? We talk about it among ourselves. We've come to the conclusion that it's not easy, every case has its nuances and it's not possible to generalize. You have to know how everything went, it's difficult. You have to improve the timing, because there are athletes who waited months and months; while others solved it in two or three days.”

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