Jannik Sinner ‘not thinking about’ doping appeal after Australian Open triumph

Pictured: Jannik Sinner with the Australian Open title.
Jannik Sinner with the Australian Open title.

Jannik Sinner insists that he is “not thinking about” the appeal into his doping case after picking up his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

World No 1 Sinner stormed to the title on Sunday, not facing a break point in a convincing 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph over world No 2 Alexander Zverev.

It was the third major title in the space of five tournaments for the Italian, who triumphed at both the Australian and US Open in 2024.

However, his dominance and success have partially been overshadowed by his ongoing doping case.

The Italian was initially found to be of “no fault” by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after twice testing positive for clostebol in March 2024, with the verdict announced in August.

However, in September 2024 the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed an appeal against the ITIA’s initial ruling, taking their case to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS).

Should CAS rule in WADA’s favour, Sinner could face a suspension up to two years in length.

The hearing will take place across April 16-17 in Lausanne – less than three months from now.

Sinner’s case has repeatedly been brought up in press conferences since it emerged but, speaking just hours after his triumph on Sunday, the 23-year-old claimed it was not something he was concerned with.

“I mean, I’m not thinking at the moment about like this,” said Sinner.

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“I just came off an amazing run again here. I want to enjoy this moment, to be honest. Then it’s the hearing. We know now the dates, and that’s it. I mean, I want to enjoy this one now.

“I mean, what happened, happened, no? As I always say, I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened. If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this, and that’s it.

“I mean, I still believe every time it came out in a very positive way, and I still believe it’s going to be that case. That’s it, no? At the moment I’m not thinking about this. Of course, you have your moments of certain days where you feel like I wish I would not have this problem.

“In the other way, I’m always looking forward to go on court, trying to understand. Now I also need my time off, which is also very important for my body and my mind. Then when I go again back on court, I try to improve.”

Sinner is next set to be in action at the Rotterdam Open, which takes place from February 3-9.

The Italian won the tournament 12 months ago and will again be the favourite to triumph once again, heading into the event on a 21-match win streak.

He will be the top seed at the ATP 500 tournament, ahead of world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz and world No 7 Daniil Medvedev.

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