Jannik Sinner reveals eye-opening experience as doping saga helped him learn who his real ‘friends’ are
Jannik Sinner opened up about how the doping row helped him understand who his real supporters on the ATP Tour were.
Follow Us
Jannik Sinner (Image via CNN)
The doping incident helped Jannik Sinner understand who are his friends on the ATP Tour. Sinner in a recent interview opened up about how the doping case impacted him and how in spite of being in the midst of a mess, he was able to focus on his matches.
Sinner has been at the receiving end of criticism since the International Tennis Integrity Agency‘s (ITIA) verdict came out in favor of him after he failed two drug tests in March this year. As Sinner avoided strict punishment, many blamed the ITIA for double standards because of Sinner’s rankings.
The organization imposed a ban on many players before Sinner who consumed banned substances accidentally. A few of his critics, however, accused him of cheating by consuming the performance-enhancing drug clostebol to win matches. Though the controversy did him no good, it was an eye-opening experience for him.
I understood that there are many players who I didn’t think were my friends, and there is a fairly large number who I thought were friends and instead they are not. And in the end, I don’t say that this did me any good, but it made me understand a lot of things.
Jannik Sinner told Sky Sport Uno
Sinner is the most successful men’s player this season, having won seven titles, including two Grand Slam trophies. His impressive season however was shadowed by the doping saga with critics suspecting that the anabolic steroid was the reason behind his seven trophies.
Jimmy Connors says tennis won’t survive after Jannik Sinner’s doping row
Jannik Sinner cannot yet leave the doping row behind him as he is still waiting for the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) verdict. Amidst the uproar, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) demanded a ban on Sinner and Jimmy Connors gave his opinion on the entire thing and claimed that tennis at the top level could not take it.
Listen, all I know is that I don’t think tennis at that level could survive that to hit a top player. They have shown in the past that they are not afraid to hit lower-ranked players and discard them from the game.
Jimmy Connors said on his Advantage Connors podcast
Sinner recently participated in the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Riyadh and won after beating Carlos Alcaraz. He is set to play the Paris Masters.
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4796 Articles Published)