To the tennis fans of Italy, Jannik Sinner is their undisputed king.
A little like those defiant Donald Trump ‘fans’ in America, Sinner is an untouchable hero who can do no wrong in the eyes of his followers and they may explain why they may have missed the sensitivities of the events the sport of tennis is trying to navigate this week.
We have to appreciate that Italian tennis has waited a long time for a champion to emerge in a nation craving success, so Sinner’s success in lifting three Grand Slam titles over the last 18 months and guiding his country to back-to-back Davis Cup wins has put him on a pedestal that he may never step down from.
For many years, the travelling Italian media pool has been among the most populous and vocal in the tennis press rooms around the world, even though they didn’t have too much to shout about at the back end of Grand Slam events.
All that has changed with the emergence of world No 1 Sinner, while world No 9 Lorenzo Musetti, former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi are enjoying success on the ATP Tour.
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Jasmine Paolini is leading the Italian charge in the women’s game, with their success in last year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals confirming Italy is the dominant nation in tennis right now.
Yet the brutal reality must be that the outside world may be viewing the ‘triumphant’ return of Sinner in a slightly different light.
The harsh truth is we are talking about a tennis player who tested positive for an anabolic steroid that could be performance-enhancing and is now making a return to action after what was a controversial ban.
Whether you buy into the reason Sinner has given to explain why Clostebol got into his system or not, with his suggestion that the cream used by his former physio to treat at cut inadvertantly entered his system during a massage, the basic facts are that this is a tennis player who failed a drug test and cut a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agenca to conveniently ensure he didn’t miss any Grand Slam tournaments.
So the images of Sinner being cheered into the press room for his pre-tournament press conference will have been condemned by many who are also been accredited to report on this year’s Italian Open.
The general rule in tennis is the media do not clap players on court or in press conferences unless that achieve something truly remarkable or maybe at the end of their career, so applause for a player returning from a drug ban in press tournament press conference will be viewed as embarrassing and unprofessional behaviour from those who took part in the moment.
Scenes of Sinner being lauded with cheers and adoration everywhere he goes ahead of his return to action in the Italian Open will not sit well with some and that may also include the star at the centre of this storm.
It may be that Sinner is also a little uncomfortable with the spotlight that is inevitably shining on him as he makes his comeback in Italy’s capital, but he can’t stop the euphoria building around him.
This likeable sportsman doesn’t appear to be the type who revels in the media glare and he may well have preferred to avoid the relentless rounds of media interviews and questions about his failed drug tests that he knew were coming his way on his media day on Monday.
Yet he politely answered the questions that came his way, with his comments in an interview with Sky Sports Tennis highlighting the challenges he has been through since the positive doping results in March 2024.
“At the start, I was a bit confused because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,” said Sinner.
“Then I went home and stayed with my family. I tried to understand better what was important to me.
“I know how many sacrifices I made and my daily routine was always practice, practice, practice. But at that moment, I didn’t have any of that.
“I came to understand that what’s important to me are the people by your side. They give you the strength to move forward and continue smiling.
“I didn’t want to do it in the beginning, and also it was a bit not easy for me to accept it, because I know what really happened,” Sinner said of the ban.
“But sometimes we have to choose the best in a very bad moment, and that’s what we did. So, it’s all over now. So, I’m happy to play tennis again.”
It is not those who live in the tennis bubble who will look in on the acclaim Sinner is receiving in Rome with a critical eye, as we have full knowledge of this story and appreciate that the athlete was almost certainly not cheating when his positive doping test was recorded.
Yet the world No 1 in any sport is a standard bearer and that is why the euphoric reaction from the Italian tennis community to the return of their champion may be seen through a different lens outside of their country.
Those hailing Sinner as the returning hero probably don’t care if critics view their response in a negative light, as they have sided with the player from the start of this story and will make no apology for celebrating his comeback.
Tennis needs to hope the damage caused to its reputation by the image of the world No 1 being banned for a positive doping test is not tarnished further by what some could view as misguided acclaim for a player returning from a doping ban.
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