"I didn't know how I had to behave" - Jannik Sinner details emotional turmoil and uncertainty during doping tests ordeal, highlights turning point
Jannik Sinner made emotional revelations about the initial months of his doping test case. The Italian shed light on how the case being underway behind closed doors impacted him negatively.
Sinner tested positive for miniscule traces of a banned substance called Clostebol in March 2024. After successful appeals, the World No. 1 received the green light to continue playing, and as is the norm, the case wasn’t made public before a verdict was reached.
On August 19, an independent tribunal declared Jannik Sinner innocent after it was established that errors on his physiotherapist and fitness coach’s part led to the accidental contamination. The WADA has since appealed the “no fault or negligence” verdict, suggesting that while the positives were a result of contamination, the tennis player should hold some responsibility for his team members’ mistake.
About the private nature of his tribulation, Jannik Sinner said:
"It was difficult first of all because I couldn’t open up to many people. It was a very complicated period because I didn’t know how I had to behave, personally. I didn’t know what would come out. I didn’t know what would happen with the team," he said in his recent interview for Sky Sport and Intesa Sanpaolo (translated from Italian).
The two-time Grand Slam champion added that although he was distressed, he cheered himself up by reminding himself he wasn’t at fault and got back on his feet.
"It was very difficult, normally I’m always in control, and instead (here) it was quite easy to lose it; (lose) control. Only that after a few weeks I woke up one morning and said, ‘But in the end I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t know anything,’" he recalled.
He recalled that, albeit difficult, he eventually made peace with the situation.
"And so for me it was already over, then what comes out from the judge, what can or can’t come out in the end I can no longer control, right?" Jannik Sinner added.
Jannik Sinner remembers how he lost his smile during the ordeal but couldn't share details: "What was I supposed to answer?"
Despite the doping tests ordeal weighing on him privately, Jannik Sinner continued his on-court success, with only a few uncharacteristic losses.
The Italian has won seven tour-level titles this season, including two Grand Slams (the Australian Open and the US Open), winning two of them (the ATP 500 in Halle and the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati) before his case was made public.
Despite the wins, though, Sinner frequently bore a dejected look, confusing the tennis fraternity.
"Of course, it was complicated when I knew, but nothing had come out yet. Maybe I won a match, and they saw me really down and said to me, ‘But you won, why are you like this?’" he recalled during the aforementioned interview.
"And what was I supposed to answer? I said, ‘No, no, I’m fine; everything is fine.’" Jannik Sinner added.
The World No. 1 also revisited his five-set loss to arch-rival Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-final of Wimbledon 2024. Sinner complained about dizziness and sickness during the match. He also noted that he was unable to sleep the previous night, without sharing further details at the time.
"And then there were matches where I didn't sleep the night before. As you probably saw, before the match with Medvedev (quarterfinals at Wimbledon)," he said, looking back.
Jannik Sinner is gearing up for the 2024 Paris Masters, where he will bid for his fourth Masters 1000 title of the season and fifth overall.