Carlos Alcaraz Calls Jannik Sinner’s Comeback After Doping Ban ‘Great’ for Tennis as He Hopes to Meet Him in Italian Open Final

Carlos Alcaraz could set up a blockbuster showdown with Jannik Sinner if both of them progress to the Italian Open final.

Carlos Alcaraz Calls Jannik Sinner’s Comeback After Doping Ban ‘Great’ for Tennis as He Hopes to Meet Him in Italian Open Final

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Bastien Fachan)

Jannik Sinner will play his first match since this year’s Australian Open final on Saturday (May 10). In the ongoing Italian Open, Sinner will be kick-starting his campaign against Argentina’s Mariano Navone, who went past Federico Cina in the first round.

If the three-time Grand Slam champion reaches the final, he could set up a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz leads 6-4 in the head-to-head matchups with the Italian and also registered victorious in the last three tournaments they played in 2024. The Spaniard, who will kick off his Italian Open campaign on Friday (May 9) against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, made his feelings known on Sinner’s comeback.

As I said, yes, it’s great for me, for tennis, for the fans to have him around again, for him to be able to play a tournament again. We’re not on the same side of the draw. I hope I meet him in the final. But what I want to say is, I’m very happy to see him again, and his team.

Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference

Sinner tested positive for clostebol twice last year and after initially escaping a ban from the International Anti-Doping Agency (ITIA), he received a three-month suspension from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), who at first wanted to hand him a ban of between one and two years and had approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the same.

The WADA, however, reached a case resolution in January this year and banned him for only three months. Because of his ban, the World No.1 did not play four Masters 1000 tournaments (Indian Wells, the Miami Open, the Monte Carlo Masters, and the Madrid Open). But in spite of his absence, no player could dethrone him from the top.

World No.3 Alcaraz and World No.2 Alexander Zverev had received a golden opportunity to climb to the top of the rankings table, but neither of them could capitalize on the ban, for they both produced inconsistent performances. If Zverev or Alcaraz wins the Italian Open, they still won’t be able to remove Sinner from the top.

Naomi Osaka surprised by Carlos Alcaraz’s twin bed

Naomi Osaka, after giving birth to her daughter Shai, made her tennis comeback in 2024, but couldn’t produce consistent results. Since her return, she reached two finals: the first at this year’s ASB Classic, where she gave a walkover to Clara Tauson; and the second came in a Challenger tournament in Saint-Malo, this time, she ended the tournament in her favor with a straight set win over Kaja Juvan.

Naomi Osaka (via X/The Tennis Letter)
Naomi Osaka (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Following her victory, she arrived in Rome and reached the third round by knocking out Sara Errani and Viktorija Golubic. Osaka, whose Netflix documentary Naomi Osaka was released in 2021, said that she watched the first few minutes of Carlos Alcaraz’s Netflix documentary, Carlos Alcaraz: My Way. The thing that amazed her the most was the 22-year-old’s twin bed.

I just was kind of stuck on his room. I was like, ‘Is that really his room?’ But was really cute to me, because obviously he really loves his family and he probably feels a lot of comfort being in the room he grew up in.

Naomi Osaka said (H/T: Tennis.com)

Osaka has scheduled a third-round match with Marie Bouzkova. Like Alcaraz, the 27-year-old is also bidding to win her first title in the tournament. Osaka leads 2-0 in the head-to-head record against the Czech ace. Alcaraz, on the other hand, has won all four matches he played against his second-round opponent Dusan Lajovic.

Also read: “It’s a Rough Road,” Marta Kostyuk Consoles Alexandra Eala After Beating the 19-Year-Old in Rome’s Opening Match