Jannik Sinner destined for greatness – but first comes doping hearing

MELBOURNE – Jannik Sinner leaves Melbourne being talked about as a potential tennis great, but first comes a hearing into his doping case at sport’s highest court that could see him banned for up to two years.

The Italian swept past Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on Jan 26 in a clash of the top seeds to win back-to-back Australian Open titles and shore up his status as the runaway world No. 1.

He also won the US Open in 2024, fast building a case for greatness.

But the 23-year-old’s career has been dogged for the past nine months by a major doping scandal that should soon reach its conclusion.

He twice tested positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March but was cleared by an independent tribunal of wrongdoing.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and is seeking a ban of up to two years.

The Italian, who denies knowingly doping, will have his hearing on April 16 and 17.

He says that the drug entered his system when his physio used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.

Sinner, who is on a staggering 21-match win streak, said he was clear in himself that he was innocent but has admitted the case is never far from his mind.

One of his two coaches, Darren Cahill, said in Melbourne that “nobody’s bulletproof” but that Sinner “deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure”.

“I think to a large extent he finds playing tennis matches to be his safe place,” Australian Cahill added.

“That’s where he can go and do his thing and feel like this is what he knows, this is what he understands, this is what he’s good at.

“It’s become a home for him to step onto the court and play tennis.”

The next Grand Slam of the year is the French Open, which starts in May, a month after the CAS hearing.

Sinner is the undoubted king of hard courts, but he has yet to go beyond the semi-finals on the clay of Roland Garros or on the grass of Wimbledon.

“It’s for sure one thing I always think about,” Sinner said after his latest Australian Open triumph.

“You have to be a complete player, not only one surface, but on also the other two.”

Sinner’s other coach, Italian Simone Vagnozzi, pointed out that Sinner still has plenty of time to stake his case for greatness given his age.

He is 14 years younger than 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who is still playing.

German Zverev called Sinner “prime Novak” after being well beaten in the final.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said he is confident Djokovic will return to the season-opening Grand Slam in 2026 after injury ended the 37-year-old’s latest challenge in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic was jeered by some sections of the crowd when he retired due to a hamstring injury after losing the opening set to Zverev on Jan 24.

The Serb, who has won 10 titles at Melbourne Park and is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown, sustained the injury in his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.

“There was some talk about Novak (not coming back here) – Novak will return,” Tiley told Australian media on Jan 27.

“He leaves today and he’s with his family, his team left on Friday.

“We’ll see Novak back and I look forward to catching up with him in the next couple of weeks.”

Djokovic took aim at his critics the day after his exit from the tournament, posting photos of an MRI scan of the injury on social media.

Tiley was certain the Serb had done everything possible to be ready for the semi-final.

“He had a good warmup that morning and his team were confident that he’d be able to get out there and play,” he said.

“I haven’t met a player that does as much pre-preparation and has as big a focus on it as Novak does, and he would do everything he possibly can to get on the court.” AFP, REUTERS