Jannik Sinner has revealed he had to accept “the lesser evil” of a three-month suspension in his first interview since his ban from ATP action began.
World No 1 Sinner is currently serving a three-month suspension after agreeing to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) earlier this year.
WADA had announced an appeal into the severity of Sinner’s doping sanction from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which was announced in August 2024.
The ITIA found him to have been of “no fault” after twice testing positive for the banned steroid clostebol in March 2024, and was handed no suspension after successfully arguing he had been contaminated by a team member.
WADA confirmed its appeal regarding the severity of the sanction in September 2024 and was set to take its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April 2025.
Had CAS ruled in WADA’s favour, Sinner could have faced a suspension of up to two years in length – though a settlement between the two parties was confirmed in February 2025.
The world No 1 is two months into his ban and is set to return at the Italian Open, which begins just days after his ban ends on May 4, 2025.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia, the 23-year-old maintained that his suspension still felt “unfair” and “didn’t agree completely” with the decision.
“In the end, you have to choose the lesser evil and I believe that is what I have done,” said Sinner.
“Even if sometimes it seems a bit unfair, all that I’m living, but then if I look at things from a different perspective it could have been worse. Even more unfairness. This is the way it is.
“The decision to take the three-month suspension was rather quick. We accepted it quite quickly, even though I didn’t agree completely.
“There was a bit of back and forth with my lawyer and the people around me. After we took this decision, it took me a while to find myself again.”
Sinner has been under intense scrutiny since news of his two doping violations first emerged last August.
In one of the most emotional revelations to come from the interview, the three-time Grand Slam champion admitted to feeling “fragile” at points during the case.
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He added: “I was very fragile after what happened. I would tell a lie if I said I was person without feelings or emotions.
“In life you learn, every year I learn more about myself, also about my value. It was not easy, very hard at times, but the people around me gave me the strength to understand what had happened.”
Reaction within tennis to Sinner’s case has been divisive, with a particularly mixed reaction across active players on the ATP Tour.
Though he will likely receive a strong reception when he returns to action on home soil in Rome, there is no way of judging how the Italian’s ATP colleagues will react to his comeback.
And, Sinner himself admits he is unsure about the welcome he will receive.
“I can’t answer this question as I don’t know what could happen. I know how things went, I know I am innocent.
“I am calm because in the end I know that what I want to do is to play tennis and be serene. That’s the end of the story.
“So, I am sure all will go well, even if at the beginning it will take a while to start over. These are questions I don’t know how to answer.”
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