Jannik Sinner has been backed by former world No 6 Gilles Simon for a quick return to winning ways once his doping suspension has ended.
World No 1 Sinner is currently serving a three-month ban after twice testing positive for the banned steroid clostebol in March 2024.
The Italian, the reigning Australian and US Open champion, was initially found to be of “no fault or negligence” by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in August 2024.
Sinner argued that he had accidentally been contaminated by a team member and, while he was docked his 2024 Indian Wells prize money and ranking points, was handed no suspension by the ITIA.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed an appeal regarding the severity of Sinner’s punishment back in September 2024.
WADA’s appeal was set to be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April 2025, before the respective parties agreed on a settlement in February 2025.
That settlement saw Sinner accept a three-month ban for his doping violations and the Italian has so far missed two Masters 1000 events, in Indian Wells and Miami.
The three-time major champion is also set to miss the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open before the end of his suspension on May 4th, 2025.
Sinner is currently set to return to action on home soil at the Italian Open in Rome, which begins on May 7th, and will also play the Hamburg Open before the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros.
The 23-year-old defeated Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final back in January – dropping just two sets on his way to the title – and held a staggering 73-6 record across the 2024 season.
Sinner has proven the dominant force on the ATP Tour since the start of 2024, and Simon, the winner of 14 ATP Tour titles, sees no reason for that to change on his return.
Speaking to Tennis365, the Frenchman predicted the world No 1 would quickly be back to his best.
“He’s going to play great,” said Simon.
“It’s a three-month suspension where he’s practicing, so basically it’s a three-month preparation. He’s going to play a bit to find the rhythm again, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to find it quickly.
“In one moment, he’s going to win, he’s going to be back on track, and he’s going to play well – because it’s not an injury, it’s a suspension.
“He’s healthy, he had time to also maybe heal the parts of the body that maybe needed some work on it. Any work he had to do, he had time to do it.
“And three months is not six months, or nine months, or one year, when you come back to competition. I’m really not worried about his level.”
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Sinner’s time away from the game has been defined by his closest rivals being unable to take advantage of his suspension.
The 23-year-old looks set to return to tour with his world No 1 ranking intact – and is likely to still have a significant points cushion.
Despite dropping 1,000 ranking points after being barred from defending his Miami Open title, Sinner still holds 10,330 points.
That places him 2,685 points ahead of world No 2 Zverev, and 3,610 points ahead of world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner will see Monte Carlo semi-final and Madrid Open quarter-final points fall off his ranking this coming month but, having withdrawn from the Italian Open in 2024, will have no points to defend in his comeback event.
The Italian has the chance to earn 500 points at the Hamburg Open the week before Roland Garros, where he has semi-final points to defend.
Simon was speaking in his role as an ambassador and team captain for the 2025 Roland-Garros eSeries by Renault.
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The post Exclusive: Jannik Sinner’s rivals warned Italian is ‘going to play well’ on return from suspension appeared first on Tennis365.
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