“I didn’t want to reach the agreement with WADA because I knew what happened. Now everything is over and I’m happy about it.” Jannik Sinner said earlier this year, ahead of the Italian Open, after coming back from a 3-month suspension. The World No.1 received a ban back in February following a doping controversy. His case was interesting to say the least, as WADA confirmed that he “did not intend to cheat” and the banned substance Clostebol entered his system by accident. But the governing body also noted that “an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence”. Unfortunately, for Sinner, it meant that he had to sacrifice his three months with no professional tennis to be involved with. Now, American pro Taylor Fritz has shared a similar thought on doping in general while touching upon the Italian’s experience.
For the uninitiated, Sinner had initially received clearance from the ITIA in the doping case. Last August, the agency revealed that there was “no fault or negligence” on his side. However, WADA later appealed against this verdict. They required Sinner’s case to be heard at the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). In fact, the court even revealed the dates for the hearing, for April. But eventually, in February, WADA mentioned that it “entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024. ”
On May 24, ahead of the French Open in Paris, ATP pro Taylor Fritz was asked to share his views on Sinner’s case. While he didn’t necessarily comment on the Italian, he did have his own thoughts to share. Especially regarding the supplements themselves that are termed safe for athletes. Per Fritz, it may not always be the case. How? “Yeah, I mean it’s I think regardless of what happened with Jannik, it’s always been very scary. I think regardless of even when you are taking products that are, you know like, safe, it’s just so scary every time you go into a test.”
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 8, 2021 Italy’s Jannik Sinner in action during his first round match against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
Explaining his point, he added, “any little thing could happen and set it off and cause a contamination or something like that. So even though you know there’s a 99.99 percent chance every time you do your test, that like everything should be fine, it’s still that small chance that, you know, it takes very little for it to have a catastrophic effect on you.”
Concluding his remarks, Fritz said, “I would say it’s very stressful. But yeah, I mean I am always making sure to take stuff that’s always marked NSF approved and not take stuff that’s not, I guess.”
Coming back to Sinner, he’s been trying to just get past the doping saga and focus on tennis. It became evident from his run in Rome, making it to the final before Carlos Alcaraz bested him. The World No.1 is gearing up to put his best foot forward while eyeing further improvement on the Parisian clay.
Jannik Sinner feeling great “after three months”
Jannik Sinner resumed his official training on April 13. His 3-month suspension eventually ended on May 7. Despite coming back after what feels like a long time to professional tennis, the Italian looked in great form in Rome. For the first time, he even succeeded in reaching the summit clash in this Masters 1000 event.
Ahead of his French Open campaign, the World No.1 sat down for a pre-event press conference. He shared his excitement for the second major of 2025, after clinching the AO title in January. Reflecting on his comeback to the Italian Open, he said, “For sure, it was great after three months coming back making a final. It was my first big final on clay, which is not to underrate because we worked a lot for that, but also it was a great feeling to be part of this final,” reported Roland Garros’s website on May 23.
Speaking on his performance, he added, “We have seen a couple of things where I can improve, and Grand Slams are just different. You know, you have to be mentally ready, physically too, trying to use the right energy. It’s all about being consistent and solid.”
He made it clear that in Rome, the objective “was to win couple of matches, and I ended up in the final, which is a huge extra for me. Hopefully, this can give me then some confidence for here in Paris.”
Sinner will kick start his journey at the Roland Garros on Monday against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. What are your thoughts on his prospects in Paris? Will he win his second straight slam of the season? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Panic Spikes as Taylor Fritz Makes Alarming Confession at French Open After Jannik Sinner’s Doping Controversy appeared first on EssentiallySports.