Jannik Sinner claims ‘it’s the same’ process as he responds to questions about doping case controversy

Oli Dickson Jefford 04 Jul 2025 11:17 AM

Pictured: Jannik Sinner celebrates a win.

On the lawns of the All England Club, Jannik Sinner has made serene progress through his opening two rounds at Wimbledon

After a comfortable 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 win over Luca Nardi in round one, the Italian was arguably even more impressive in round two on Thursday.

The world No 1 needed just 100 minutes to see off Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 triumph, a flurry of break points in the final game the only trouble he faced out on Centre Court.

Amid a mass exodus of seeded players at Wimbledon, Sinner’s status as the world’s best player has stood out, the 23-year-old one of just two men to reach the third round without dropping a set.

However, while things have been close to perfection on the court, he faces a few more complications off it.

Sinner is undoubtedly a remarkable player, and could easily lift the title next weekend, though it is impossible to escape the fact that he was serving a suspension just two months ago.

The Italian’s three-month suspension, served from February to May, was the culmination of a drawn-out saga involving him, his entourage, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which initially began with two failed drug tests in March 2024.

Sinner managed to appeal against initial provisional suspensions, claiming contamination caused by former physio Giacomo Naldi, an argument that the ITIA ultimately upheld in August 2024.

News of the case emerged just days before his ultimately successful US Open campaign last summer and, until his suspension in February 2025, he remained conclusively the world’s best player.

It was not until WADA appealed the ITIA’s ruling that Sinner re-faced the risk of a ban, and the two opposing parties eventually settled on a three-month suspension, without the need for a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

However, among several players, there has been a public sense of injustice, a feeling among some that the world No 1 was treated rather favourably due to his status.

Whether this is true or not will likely remain a matter of personal opinion, but, compared to the warmer response Sinner had from the media at the Italian Open, his comeback event, and at Roland Garros, he has undeniably faced more pertinent questioning at Wimbledon.

And, that questioning comes at the time a formerly banned player, once critical of the handling of Sinner’s case, has been making his way through the draw.

Kamil Majchrzak is back at Wimbledon for the first time since 2022 and is through to the third round at the All England Club, an eye-catching win over Matteo Berrettini the highlight of his campaign.

The Pole was provisionally suspended back in December 2022 after failing drug tests at three different tournaments, claiming an isotonic drink had led to the failed tests.

The ITIA ruled that Majchrzak has “not knowingly or intentionally” committed any wrongdoing, though was handed a 13-month suspension for his violation.

After returning in 2024, he claimed the initial outcome of Sinner’s case was “shocking and extremely painful” at the 2024 US Open, where he was competing in qualifying.

Rightly or wrongly, Sinner was directly asked about Majchrzak’s case after his victory over Vukic on Thursday night.

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He was directly asked whether more help should be provided to lower-ranked players and whether it was more difficult for such players to respond to doping cases.

Sinner offered a rather pragmatic response, in which he insisted that, despite his financial advantage, there had been no different treatment.

“So what I think is that I am in a position where I can take a lawyer or a higher, good lawyer, because I’m in the position,” responded Sinner. “Fortunately, I also have the money what maybe others don’t have.

“But the process I went through, it’s the same. There is no better treatment. Maybe I have good defense in a way because I have good people around, and this is because I’ve earned my money, and now I can do that.

“In the other way, the process like the ITIA works and how fast everything goes, it’s the same. So I know there in the past there have been difficult choices and decisions. This I understand.

“But, yeah, what I can say that my case was controlled not once, but twice, three times, and it always came out that I was innocent.”

When Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol in March 2024, he was ranked third in the world and was fresh off winning his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

The Italian has won even more titles, and even more prize money, since then, but there is no denying that he was already well-placed to deal with the fallout of his case.

But, in response to a second question on Thursday night, he appeared to claim this was a benefit of his success.

He added: “If this happened to me maybe when I was 18, for example, I didn’t have the money, so maybe I was in the same situation.

“It happened when I earned my money, and then obviously I take the best people I can. It’s the same thing with the best players to have also the whole team for them.

“I have two coaches. Here I don’t have a physio and physical trainer. You can build up everything. It’s the same thing on the other side.”

Sinner will return to court on Friday for his third-round match against Pedro Martinez, another contest he will be expected to win comfortably.

A three-time quarter-finalist and former semi-finalist at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old is comfortable on grass; a fourth Grand Slam title next weekend would be a shock to no one.

But, off the court, it feels like life will remain a little more uncomfortable for him for some time yet.