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Jannik Sinner said it feels strange to be back on the tennis circuit after his three-month anti-doping ban but he is happy and setting his expectations low as he returns on home soil at the Italian Open.
“It’s a very low expectation tournament in general,” said Sinner during his pre-tournament press conference. “Results-wise, I don’t know. For me, what’s missing is the complete feedback of where my level is. That’s going to come slowly with time playing. After the first round match I’m going to have a good picture of myself, where I am at.
“Talking about the other stuff, with players, I just arrived 45 minutes ago. I haven’t seen so many. I was down talking with some players. It’s all fine at the moment [but] I haven’t seen most of them. So it’s a very strange feeling again, to be around with so many people and attention. But it’s nice to be back. Me and my team are very happy.”
Sinner has not competed since he won the Australian Open, his third grand slam title, in January. His three-month ban was negotiated through a case resolution agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) after he was initially cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol last April.
According to Wada’s rules, banned players are not allowed to train in any officially sanctioned tournament venue or alongside any other professional athlete until one month before they return from their ban. After taking some time off at the beginning of his ban, for Sinner this meant that he was limited in what he was capable of doing.
“For me, last year was very difficult,” said Sinner. “I had a lot of personal pressure, holding everything [in] and couldn’t talk with many people about what happened. I was in a tough situation, and in the beginning of the Australian Open, I struggled a lot. So it was nice also to take a small break. Three months is a little bit [too much], it is what it is.
“But a small break was good, but I could feel that I’m not playing for quite a long time. The body still has to adjust at times. The blisters and hands, they come again because you know you’re not used to it anymore. I’m just very happy and very curious to see where I am at. And now we’ll see.”
In addition to being banned from his own sport, the anti-doping rules also bar suspended athletes from even entering sanctioned sporting arenas. According to Sinner, who is an ambassador for Formula One and an avid sports fan, the toughest aspect of the three-month ban was actually not being able to attend any other professional sporting events during his time off.
“To be honest, for me, the toughest part was that, in the beginning, I couldn’t watch any other sport, really, in real life,” he said. “I don’t know how many [people] know this, but, for example, watching a simple football match in a stadium, I couldn’t go there to watch it. I wanted to support my friends in cycling or motor sport, I couldn’t go there. That, for me, was the toughest part. But all things considered, I tried to make the best out of it, being ready mentally from the point when I started again to play tennis and that’s it. No, it’s all fine. And I was very glad to also spend some time with my family.”
Sinner has become one of the most prominent and successful Italian athletes of his era, meaning his return to competition in his home country has naturally generated significant news and attention. His press conference was completely filled with journalists and a number of attendees applauded when the tennis player entered the room. Sinner’s romantic relationships have also been the subject of discussion in recent weeks, which prompted him to humorously address those rumours in his opening statement. “There’s a whole a lot of attention, also kind of off the court. And I was also very surprised to see some pictures, which are nothing serious. So yeah, I’m not in a relationship. So whoever is asking, it’s all good,” he said, smiling.
Despite his suspension, Sinner remains the ATP No 1 with a lead of nearly 2,000 points over Carlos Alcaraz at No 2. As with all seeded players at the Italian Open, Sinner has received a first-round bye and he will mark his return against either Mariano Navone or Federico Cina.
