“I was suspended for two, three days. I couldn’t practice and everything,” said Jannik Sinner amidst criticism from the whole tennis community. Everyone from fans to fellow players has rained down admonishments on the Italian for failing a drug test for a banned anabolic substance, not once but twice. However, with very few names on his side, Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, is staunchly supporting the World No. 1.

“I know Sinner well enough to say without hesitation that he is one of the most fair and educational players on the circuit. I think it is unthinkable that he would knowingly act unfairly. A mistake was made that has already been sufficiently paid for, with the loss of points and money earned in Indian Wells,” Toni wrote in his El Pais column. (translated)

Sinner lost the 400 ranking points and $325,000 in prize money he earned from the semifinals of Indian Wells. For Toni Nadal, that is enough punishment for the failed dope tests. “The daily life of every player is really too vulnerable. Every mistake, even involuntary, can lead to punishments that I often find exaggerated. I find it disconcerting that some media, instead of criticizing the excessive punishments of the past, are asking for a similar one for the world number 1. There are always people who, without knowing the case well, are ready to give negative opinions and judgments.”

Among those who have outrightly bashed Jannik Sinner have been Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov, and Liam Broady. While these three seemingly called out the ruling of the Independent Tribunal, Carlos Alcaraz gave a neutral response to the whole situation. Even Novak Djokovic asked for fairer treatment rather than the ITIA showing double standards.

“There is a lot of issues in the system. We see lack of standardized and clear protocols. I can understand the feelings of a lot of players that are questioning whether they are treated the same,” the Serbian said. After all, it’s a matter of being treated differently if you’re in the top echelons of the sport or lower on the ladder.

But Jannik Sinner was firm in stating that his case was treated the same as everyone, “No, it’s every player who gets tested positive has to go through the same process. There is no shortcut, there is no different treatment, they are all the same process.”

While the Italian understands the frustration of the tennis community toward his case, as it was dismissed almost as soon as it came to the public eye, whatever went behind the scenes in the last few months wasn’t easy for him.

Jannik Sinner opens up on the “very tough moments throughout the whole process”

In Sinner’s words, the reason the case got dismissed so quickly was because they knew exactly where the Clostebol in his system came from. It was supposedly his team members’ negligence – physical trainer Umberto Ferrara bought an over-the-counter cream containing the substance for physio Giacomo Naldi, who treated his own open wounds with it and then treated Sinner with the same fingers, with no gloves. Now the story goes.

These names are now ex-members of Sinner’s team. “I know sometimes the frustration of other players obviously,” Jannik Sinner said in an interview before the US Open. But at another press conference, he revealed how this whole saga caused him sleepless nights, resulting in physical problems as well.

“ I think you saw this during Wimbledon. For example, there were sleepless nights, because thinking of this. There were physical issues and maybe because of that, you know,” said the Italian. “The first issue came because of the hip in Monaco, you know, exactly when it came out. So there have been some very tough moments throughout the whole process.”

At this point, it’s safe to say that no one knows the whole truth of the matter with Jannik Sinner. Only a percentage of what goes on behind the scenes is ever revealed to us. Currently, all we can do is hope that the game we love to watch has its basis on fairgrounds That being said, do you think this whole controversy will affect Sinner’s game in the US Open? Let us know in the comments below.