Sinner all set to return on home soil!
All eyes this week will be on the return of world number Jannik Sinner, who is set to officially make his return to the courts after serving a 3-month ban on tour. Sinner, who was handed the ban within a week of defending his Australian Open title, will make a comeback in front of his home crowd at the Italian Open. Although the tournament gets underway on 5th March, Sinner will receive a first-round bye, meaning fans can catch him in action for the first time from the second round.
Following his Australian Open win in January, Sinner had a healthy lead at the top of the PIF ATP rankings with 11,830 points, while German Alexander Zverev was second with just 8,135 points to his name. Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was third with 7,010, and both these players had a great chance at overtaking the Italian for the number one ranking. However, despite featuring in as many as 4 Masters 1000 tournaments, neither of the two players was successful in their bid.
Sinner had been playing some top-notch tennis prior to his ban and took the 2024 season by storm as he recorded a dominant 73-6 win-loss year, which included 8 titles. Amongst those 8 titles, he won his first Australian Open in January, his first US Open in September, and the ATP Finals in November. Sinner also clinched 3 masters 1000 titles in Miami, Cincinnati, and Shanghai. The Italian continued his strong run of form at the 2025 Australian Open and will now look to continue exactly from where he left off 3 months ago.
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Sinner was found with very minute traces of clostebol in his body during testing at the 2024 Indian Wells tournament. Clostebol is a synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid, and it is a prohibited substance. 2 urine samples were taken on March 10 and March 18, respectively, and in both samples, small traces of the drug were found in his system.
The 23-year-old claimed that the substance entered his body unintentionally whilst receiving a massage from his physiotherapist, who was actually applying an over-the-counter spray to treat a small wound on his own skin. As per Sinner, his physiotherapist did not use gloves while performing the massage, and the banned substance entered his body.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which believed that the intake was unintentional, still debated on the matter, with the main reason being that the athlete in question should be responsible for his team’s actions. Despite the case still ongoing for several months, and with no clear indication of when a decision would be taken, Sinner accepted a three-month ban as a means of settlement with WADA.
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Nevertheless, the Italian has served out his ban and will take to the courts this week. Still maintaining a sizeable lead over Zverev and Alcaraz, and with no points to defend in Rome, Sinner is in prime position to increase his lead at the top of the PIF ATP rankings, and make headway in the ATP Race where he currently lies at the number 4 spot behind Alcaraz, Zverev, and Jack Draper.
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