‘Absolute champion’ Jannik Sinner defended by Italian great after doping ban
Jannik Sinner’s mental strength has been compared to that of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Bjorn Borg’s as the “completely innocent” Italian was defended after his doping ban.
Reigning world No 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner is currently serving a three-month suspension after settling with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
WADA had appealed the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) decision to not hand the 23-year-old a suspension after finding Sinner to be of “no fault” after twice testing positive for clostebol.
Sinner had successfully argued to the ITIA that he had accidently been contaminated by a team member, and while WADA did not contest this, they did contest his degree of responsibility.
The case was set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport this April before the two parties came to a settlement in February 2025.
Sinner’s suspension began on February 9th and will run until May 4th, after which he will be free to compete.
The Italian’s case has divided the tennis world, though former world No 4 Panatta – the last Italian man to win a singles Grand Slam before Sinner – has been steadfast in his support.
And the former French Open champion has again come out to bat for the 23-year-old, describing him as an “absolute champion” – and slamming WADA in the process.
“Sinner is an absolute champion, he plays tennis perfectly,” said Panatta.
“Mentally, he is the strongest of all, I put him on the same level as Nadal, Djokovic and Borg. He will undoubtedly make history in tennis.
“His suspension? There is no doubt that Jannik is completely innocent. As I have said in the past, he is the only one who is guilty without having committed the act.
“I do not think much of WADA, my thoughts are not favourable towards them.”
Sinner is currently absent from Indian Wells – where one of his two failed tests took place – due to his suspension.
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The famed event is one of four Masters 1000 events that the world No 1 is set to miss during his ban, potentially putting his ranking at risk.
The Italian will be unable to defend his Miami Open title next week, and will then miss both the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open.
However, Sinner’s suspension ends just in time for his home tournament in Rome, with the Italian Open set to begin on May 8th.
Sinner currently holds a 3,195-point lead over world No 2 Alexander Zverev, and a 3,820-point lead over world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz.
However, Zverev will drop points after his early Indian Wells exit, while Alcaraz has to defend 1,000 points at the event after his triumph in 2024.
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