Jannik Sinner’s ‘insane’ prize money since his two failed drug tests is revealed
Jannik Sinner ended the tennis year on a real high with a win at the ATP Finals, but this will also be the year when his two failed drug tests sent shock waves through the sport.
Sinner tested positive for a banned substance twice in March and was controversially allowed to continue playing before he was absolved of fault or negligence by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed against that verdict and has asked for Sinner to be banned for two years, but Sinner insists he does not deserve to be punished for what was deemed to be an inadvertent contamination.
“Every player who gets tested positive has to go through the same process,” said the Italian. “There is no shortcut, there is no different treatment, they are all the same process.
“I know sometimes the frustration of other players obviously, but maybe because they got suspended they didn’t know exactly where it comes from, also what substance, but the main reason is where it comes from and how it entered in his own system.
“We knew it straight away and we were aware of what happened. We went straight away and I was suspended for two, three days. I couldn’t practice and everything, but they accepted it very, very fast and that’s why (he carried on playing).”
WADA has made it clear that they are not happy with the way the case was handled as they said: “It is WADA’s view that the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ was not correct under the applicable rules.
“WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
If the protocol in similar cases had been followed, Sinner could have expected to be suspended while a verdict was considered in his case, but he was allowed to continue to compete – and the ramifications of that decision have been remarkable.
Sinner went on to win his first event after his failed drug test at the Miami Open, collecting prize money of $1,100,000.
He then won €274,425 after a run to the Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals and €161,995 from his quarter-final appearance at the Madrid Masters.
He won €650,000 from a semi-final appearance at the French Open, €421,790 from winning the Halle grass court tournament and £375,000 from a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon.
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A $170,940 prize money payment went to Sinner from a quarter-final appearance at the Canadian Open in August and he got $1,049,460 for winning the Cincinnati Masters and $3,600,000 from his US Open win.
A defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final saw him add $374,340 to his total, with $1,100,000 coming his way after a win at the Shanghai Masters.
Throw in the $7.5million he collected for his win at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia and he has earned a staggering $13,970,000 since he failed a drug test at the Indian Wells Masters tournament eight months ago.
Now he has added another $4.88million from his convincing victory at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he collected the bonus payment on offer to any player who wins the title and is undefeated throughout the tournament.
In total and including the Six Kings Slam event prize money, Sinner has won an eye-watering $18,851,500 since his failed drug test, with the financial impact of the decision to allow him to continue seeing him rise to 10th in the all-time prize money list for men’s tennis with career earnings in non-exhibition events now standing at $33,989,584.
