{"id":47138,"date":"2025-04-05T07:58:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T11:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/sport\/jannik-sinner-on-accepting-three-month-doping-ban-you-have-to-choose-the-lesser-evil-tennis-news\/05\/04\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T07:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T11:58:14","slug":"jannik-sinner-on-accepting-three-month-doping-ban-you-have-to-choose-the-lesser-evil-tennis-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/sport\/jannik-sinner-on-accepting-three-month-doping-ban-you-have-to-choose-the-lesser-evil-tennis-news\/05\/04\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Jannik Sinner on accepting three-month doping ban: \u2018You have to choose the lesser evil\u2019 | Tennis News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jannik Sinner has revealed the decision to accept a three-month doping ban was taken quickly, even though he \u201cdidn\u2019t agree completely\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Italian retained the Australian Open title in January of this year. Then in February he accepted a three-month ban after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following two positive drug tests in 2024.<\/p>\n

“In the end, you have to choose the lesser evil and I believe that is what I have done. Even if sometimes it seems a bit unfair, all that I’m living, but then if I look at things from a different perspective it could have been worse. Even more unfairness. This is the way it is,” Sinner told Sky Italy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The ban will have elapsed in time for Sinner to play in the next Grand Slam, the French Open in May.<\/p>\n

Sinner will be eligible to return for his home event, the Masters 1000 in Rome on May 7.<\/p>\n

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Jack Draper hoped Sinner was going to be okay after the Italian was banned for three months<\/span>
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“The decision to take the three-month suspension was rather quick. We accepted it quite quickly, even though I didn’t agree completely. There was a bit of back and forth with my lawyer and the people around me,” the Italian said. “After we took this decision, it took me a while to find myself again.<\/p>\n

“But I am still here. There is still a bit of time to digest all this, but I can’t wait to be back in Rome. It’s a special tournament for me, even though it will also very tough. I’ll be back in a moment in which there will be already a lot of attention on me, and in Rome it’s not easy.<\/p>\n

“But let’s say I am living every day in a calm manner.”<\/p>\n

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Watch Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets to retain the Australian Open title<\/span>
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Sinner had tested positive in March 2024 for the anabolic steroid clostebol, before being cleared in August by an independent tribunal who determined he was not to blame.<\/p>\n

WADA, which previously said it was seeking a ban of between one and two years for Sinner, appealed against that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September and a subsequent hearing had been set for April 16 and 17.<\/p>\n

In the agreement reached in February, Sinner accepted a ban of just three months but insisted the decision still affected him.<\/p>\n

“I was very fragile after what happened,” he said. “I would tell a lie if I said I was person without feelings or emotions. In life you learn, every year I learn more about myself, also about my value. It was not easy, very hard at times, but the people around me gave me the strength to understand what had happened.”<\/p>\n

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Novak Djokovic said the majority of the players he spoke to felt the lenient ban Sinner received for a positive drugs test was unfair and believed there was favouritism for the bigger names in the sport<\/span>
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He remains unsure how other players on the tour will react to his return.<\/p>\n

“I can’t answer this question as I don’t know what could happen,” he said. “I know how things went, I know I am innocent.<\/p>\n

“I am calm because in the end I know that what I want to do is to play tennis and be serene. That’s the end of the story. So, I am sure all will go well, even if at the beginning it will take a while to start over. These are questions I don’t know how to answer.”<\/p>\n

He is still counting down the time to his return to competitive tennis.<\/p>\n

“Why? Because I stopped doing what I always dreamed of doing. I am in the best position to play this sport,” he said.<\/p>\n

“At the beginning I counted the days, but now every day that goes by, as the time gets closer, I feel better physically and mentally.<\/p>\n

“Even if there is still time, it is a good opportunity for me to improve in those areas in which I had difficulties, on a surface on which I struggle. So, let’s try to do something different. Hopefully it works otherwise we will have more time to try again.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jannik Sinner has revealed the decision to accept a three-month doping ban was taken quickly, even though he “didn’t agree completely”. The