Was Jannik Sinner booed by New York crowd before his first-round match at the US Open?

Jannik Sinner has created a villain image for himself at the US Open following his doping scandal in the past week.

Was Jannik Sinner booed by New York crowd before his first-round match at the US Open?

Jannik Sinner was greeted with loud boos (via X and Imago)

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Was Jannik Sinner booed by New York crowd before his first-round match at the US Open?
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A video of World No.1 Jannik Sinner being greeted with loud boos from the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium as he stepped onto the court to play against American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round went viral. But that video is fake and maybe AI-generated.

A lot of negative reactions were building up due to the recent scrutiny of Sinner’s reputation. He tested positive for a banned substance twice but wasn’t banned from the ATP tour.

YouTube video

The controversy grew because the public only learned about his failed tests when the case was resolved. This led some players to wonder if Sinner received special treatment because of his high status in tennis, as the case was kept quiet, and he was allowed to keep competing.

FS Video

During the time his case was under review, Sinner reached the semifinals of the French Open in June and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July. However, he had to forfeit the $325,000 prize money and 400 ranking points from Indian Wells due to the positive test result.

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Jannik Sinner’s doping scandal: What do we know so far?

The biggest buzz at the U.S. Open on Monday didn’t come from the action on the courts. It wasn’t about any big names getting knocked out early. Instead, the focus shifted to the news about Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked men’s tennis player, who failed two drug tests this past spring but was cleared of any wrongdoing and won’t face suspension.

Jannik Sinner US Open
Jannik Sinner (via X)

Last week, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) shared that Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy who became the world’s top player in June, tested positive for a banned substance, clostebol, during a March tournament in Indian Wells, California. He failed a second test eight days later.

Sinner was temporarily suspended twice in the spring but appealed successfully and was allowed to keep playing while the case was investigated. Sinner explained that his fitness trainer bought a spray containing clostebol to treat a cut on his physiotherapist’s finger. The physiotherapist later gave Sinner a massage, leading to a positive test.

In a news conference on Friday before the tournament, Sinner said he had fired his trainer, Umberto Ferrara, and his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, over the incident. However, Naldi accused the media of creating a bad image of him during this fiasco.

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