Ever since the doping episode of Jannik Sinner came to light, Nick Kyrgios has been quite vocal in his remarks against the Italian star. “🤷🏽‍♂️🥱 first time in history! We are witnessing greatness!,” Kyrgios wrote in a brutal dig at Sinner on a Twitter (now X) post shared by Piers Morgan with the caption, “*after failing TWO drugs tests. (Fixed it for you).”  The tagged post shared by US Open Tennis reflected the phrase “SINNER SINNER US OPEN WINNER,” a celebratory pun that surfaced after Sinner won the US Open title, defeating Taylor Fritz in the summit clash. The Italian star provided a valid justification for his contact with the banned substance, Clostebol, and was just deducted the points and prize money that he earned at the Indian Wells Masters, where he tested positive due to accidental contamination. As the heat on Sinner rose from Kyrgios’ end, an ex-ATP pro, Paolo Bertolucci, came to the Italian star’s rescue.

Bertolucci is an Italian former tennis player who reached as high as Number 12 in the ATP rankings. Supporting his compatriot, Bertolucci hit back at Kyrgios, saying, “You can’t stand behind what he says. He made that obscene joke about the second serve, and someone rightly replied, ‘Then the first one failed’. But you can’t stoop to this level; come on.”

The ‘obscene joke’ that Bertolucci was referring to was made by Kyrgios on Sinner’s girlfriend, Anna Kalinskaya. When a fan shared an image of Kyrgios and his ex-girlfriend, Kalinskaya, taken at a basketball match several years ago, he replied to the photo with the comment ‘second serve.’ That caused a lot of controversy, and the Australian star deleted the tweet hours later. However, it became a talking point on social media, and many fans slammed him for his inappropriate comment.

Kyrgios hasn’t been in favor of Sinner not being banned after failed drug tests. As a result, he slammed the different processes used for different players.

Nick Kyrgios compares the case of Jannik Sinner to Simona Halep’s case

A couple of years back, Simona Halep found herself in trouble after failing a doping test. Subsequently, she was banned from the sport for four years, which was reduced to nine months earlier this year, in a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, she bore the consequences of coming into contact with the banned substance unknowingly. As a result, Kyrgios argued that the same process should have been followed for Sinner.

He mentioned, “Everything I put on social media I have to stand up for. I’ve seen many of my friends go through doping things and being suspended. We’ve seen players like (Simona) Halep and everyone, and it seems like every time one of these things comes up, there’s always a different process for different players… I just want a level playing field for everyone.”

However, it looks like Sinner’s doping case isn’t history yet, as WADA has set a 21-day deadline for further information on this matter. Till then, Sinner might have to hold off his US Open celebrations and  wait for further clarification over his failed doping tests.