It has been over eight months since Jannik Sinner earned his maiden Grand Slam this year. “It takes a little while to process everything,” the Italian said after the Australian Open. Following a positive start to the season, Sinner had to endure a lot of hardships, be it his doping trial case or dealing with his injuries. But with his US Open victory last month, he seemed to have silenced the critics, but not all of them. Despite showing his heroics in Melbourne in January, he is facing a backlash from fans as a mysterious scene from his victory moment resurfaced on social media.

By beating the third seed Daniil Medvedev in a in three hours and 44 minutes thrilling five-set match, Jannik Sinner, seeded fourth at the time, earned his trophy in Melbourne. Per him, “the situation on-court was very, very tough.” But perhaps not tough enough for the Italian to make his place in the history of the sport by being the third Italian man to win a Grand Slam title (since 1976). It was a magical moment for the then 22-year-old, who became the youngest ATP player (since Novak Djokovic in 2008) to hold the trophy at the Australian Open. 

While Sinner fans enjoyed this glorious moment, Nole fans’ wish to witness Djokovic defend his title in the tournament remained unfulfilled. Jannik Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic at the tournament’s semis ending Djoker’s astonishing 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park and reaching his first Grand Slam final. Reminiscing those days, some fans pointed out a strange scenario after Sinner held his trophy.

The tournament director Craig Tiley handed over an envelope to Sinner’s coaches, Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, with their names written on it.

This whole scenario raised questions among tennis fans. 

Jannik Sinner faces backlash after bizarre Australian Open scenes resurfaced

In addition, both Cahill and Vagnozzi received a silver plate with an inscription reading ‘Australian Open Champion Coach Men’s Singles 2024’. Strangely, this is the first time that the coaches of the winner have received such an award. One of whom pointed how the entire scenario was so strange. “Very strange Pavy.”

Moreover, soon after winning the Cincinnati Masters this year, Sinner announced his successful doping trial that went on for months since March. Sinner, who tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug, Clostebol, faced an immense backlash from fans as they saw him avoid a ban and close the case within a few months, hinting at having an unfair advantage of holding a privileged position in the ATP world. Referring to that, one fan wrote on X, “The early Clostebol award. 🏆.”

One fan stated, “I think it states: don’t worry, ITIA has your back.” Facing backlash, especially from Novak Djokovic fans, is nothing new for Sinner. After winning in New York, Sinner dedicated his victory to his aunt (who was sick at the time) and now has passed away. However, the fan, “Pavvy G”, who has been publicly supported by Djokovic, criticized the Italian on X for not missing the opportunity to play in tournaments despite losing his aunt. For context, Sinner has been active in the tennis circuit, attending the Gucci event and is now in Beijing.

To this, even the tennis journalist, Jon Wertheim protested and replied, “This is a legit question, not limited to tennis….what level of responsibility – if any – do today’s athletes bear w/r/t their more prominent/vocal/offensive stans? …Would a public repudiation to this kind of rot do any good?”

However, Sinner has always been appreciative of his team members and even said after the victory, “My team there, everyone who is in this box, also working from home who works with me we are trying to get better every day.” Besides, after the World No. 1’s controversial doping case, his coach, Cahill, openly suggested that Sinner is “honest to the core.” But some fans couldn’t overlook the mysterious occurrence that unfolded after the match, as a fan wrote, “Best Fake Story Creator Award.”

However, one fan pointed out how inside the envelope there was “hush money.” Not only fans, Sinner has faced backlash even from players like Nick Kyrgios, who previously referred to his doping saga and added, “You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years…”

Nevertheless, Jannik Sinner is continuing with his rule in the tennis world and hopefully we will find him earning more such trophies in the grand slams!