Jannik Sinner is the picture of resilience. Storm or shine, he’s proven time and again that nothing can shake his focus on the court. Even with the shadows of an ongoing doping saga swirling around him, the Italian star has continued to push forward, letting his game do the talking. Now, with the ATP Finals just days away, the buzz around this controversy is igniting again. But in true Sinner style, the star player is keeping cool under pressure and is sharing some updates on the ongoing controversy.

The Italian tennis dynamo engaged in an interaction with the Press in Turin and deliberated on a wide range of topics pertaining to his upcoming campaign. The excerpts of the same were also shared on X by journalist Giovanni Pelazzo who highlighted some crucial takeaways from the interaction. Sinner opened up about the growing nature of the sport in his home country, where the finals would be played, and also talked about his ongoing case, on which a final ruling is yet to be made. 

Speaking in the interview, the 23-year-old said, “Turin is always special, this year even more so. Many more people are involved in tennis and it’s nice that it is so. We try to do everything we can to grow this wonderful sport as much as possible, even in a very football-loving country like Italy.” But his excitement was seemingly challenged soon when quizzed about his doping controversy.  

Sinner revealed that there is no clarification yet. “Wada? We don’t know anything yet, I’ve already been in this position three times this year. It’s all been going very well so far.” However, he was quick to share that despite keeping a positive outlook, “playing with this situation is not optimal.” “We are living a wonderful moment and I have achieved excellent results this year,” he added further. Remember, the controversy started gaining attention soon before the US Open this year. However, Sinner managed to stay calm and played three tournaments since then, including the Grand Slam in New York. And guess what? He has won two of them already and emerged the runner-up in the other. 

Jannik Sinner’s challenges began after he tested positive twice for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol during Indian Wells. However, the ruling of the Independent Tribunal initially went in Sinner’s favor who was imposed with a fine and a reduction of points he earned in the Indian Wells. It was found that Sinner’s ex-physio Giacomo Naldi had used a spray containing the substance to treat a cut on his own finger. But, since he treated Sinner without gloves, the substance eventually was passed on to Sinner’s body. However, the furor did not die down despite the ruling. 

Several people including the likes of Nick Kyrgios continued their scathing attack on the player demanding a ban and stringent action against him. Eventually, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) took cognizance of the same and filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It requested to reopen the case against Sinner and demanded a ban of one to two years, claiming that the Independent Tribunal’s decision of “no fault or negligence” was improper under the applicable standards. Now, as per the latest update, Sinner claimed that there is no progress in the case and everything is going well in the case so far. But amid such uncertain times and criticisms, Sinner is also enjoying some tremendous backing from his friends and supporters, and one of them is none other than Carlos Alcaraz.

When Carlos Alcaraz rallied behind Jannik Sinner amid doping saga

Jannik Sinner might have received serious flak for his doping controversy but he has witnessed equal support. Amid the continuously increasing list of people backing Sinner and claiming him to be innocent, the one who recently expressed his support was none other than Carlos Alcaraz. 

In an interaction at the China Open about Sinner’s controversy, the Spaniard expressed support for the Italian player. “I thought it was closed, anything is going to happen again, Jannik is innocent, and they saw that Jannik didn’t do anything wrong. This month I didn’t know what happen exactly. I just saw the news and it surprises me a little bit.” Alcaraz also highlighted that the entire episode is not good for the sport in general.

Now, as the Italian sensation gears up for the ATP Finals, it would be interesting to see if he continues to remain calm and win yet another title in a sensational fashion.