“I haven’t done anything wrong!” – these were the quotes of Jannik Sinner during an interview at the 2024 US Open, addressing mounting criticism about his continued presence in tennis after the infamous doping incident. Despite the situation, the Italian has celebrated a successful year at the center court, winning both the Australian and US Open. But even his thrilling performances aren’t enough as the top player still faces intense scrutiny. To add more light on the situation and counter the Italian’s “Sinnermania” a newly inducted Spanish Hall of Famer offered their perspective. 

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) first revealed the news of Sinner’s doping, highlighting positive tests twice for banned substances in March. The incident received the spotlight because of Sinner’s position in the world of tennis. Therefore, the question remains; how is the game better now than before? Well, maybe because players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz shared the limelight for the past few years and helped the game to fasten its rhythm. However, the narrative has shifted since then, featuring competing perspectives and a dramatic new opinion.

To share his opinion about the entire predicament, former World #1 in doubles Emilio Sánchez Vicario sat down with Marca and said “The process has already been carried out, but WADA has imposed a different sanction for similar cases and  is now entering into the process. Sinner must defend his case again… Nobody wants him to test positive. But the sad thing about this is that there is a tendency to think that not everyone is judged equally.“

He also added “Sinner has lost his image, but so has tennis. If it is truly proven that the amount detected has not helped to improve performance, then why are these levels maintained … But for me Sinner is one of the boys who has the best headspace to give a good message to the youth, he always speaks positively and he is a very good rival for Carlos because he will help him improve in consistency and intensity. I think he will help tennis to be better. I hope nothing happens…”

The Italian tennis incident, which dominated headlines nearly nine months ago, continues to generate discussion from time to time. However, the unfortunate spotlight wasn’t reserved only for Jannik Sinner as a top seed as other players also faced unwanted attention that tennis fans would prefer to overlook before the new season starts.

Not just Jannik Sinner, Poland’s Iga Swiatek also faced a ban this year

Not just Jannik Sinner but the top-ranked Polish tennis player and current world number two, Iga Swiatek, was recently embroiled in a doping scandal as well. A heart medication, Trimetazidine aka TMZ, found in her system, resulted in a one-month suspension from September 12 to October 4 for the WTA No.2 player, in violation of anti-doping regulations. However, Swiatek’s coach Wim Fissette stood by her and took a side. “It was an extremely stressful and difficult situation for Iga and for the whole team,”, he said to The National, continuing, “Iga told me about the case and left me the decision about our cooperation. I have been observing her for a long time, her values, her work ethic, her standards. I was confident that she is innocent from the start, so it did not influence my decision about joining the team.”

Swiatek’s controversy also shares similarities with an incident from 2022. Remember Simona Halep? The Romanian pro was initially handed a four-year ban which threatened to derail her career, but the sentence was reduced to nine months. Why? Again, because of the doping accusation, despite Halep protesting that she did not take the banned substance ‘roxadustat’ knowingly. According to Reuters the Romanian tennis star said, “I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgment? I can’t find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer.”, before adding, “It can only be bad will from the ITIA, the organisation that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence … It was painful, it is painful and maybe the injustice that was done to me will always be painful.”

Nick Kyrgios, known for his raw opinions on and off the center court, also shared his views about Swiatek’s ban from tennis for one month. During the heated controversy, when Zimbabwean player Benjamin Lock posted his opinion about the inconsistency of rules and how these apply to different players on X, Nick replied, “OUR SPORT IS COOKED”. He also added, “The excuse that we can all use is that we didn’t know. Simply didn’t know. Professionals at the highest level of sport can now just say ‘we didn’t know’.”

As the new season kicks off in a few weeks at the Down Under, all eyes will be on Jannik Sinner to rise above the criticism and meet his fans’ expectations by defending his AO title. Do you believe in his redemption arc? Let us know in the comments down below.