Jannik Sinner recently spoke in depth about the motivational struggles that he faced in continuing his top-flight career following his doping saga. The World No. 1 shared that he had considered “giving up” ahead of his Australian Open title defense in January, as he wasn’t happy with his negative perception.
Sinner has won three Major titles since the beginning of 2024. The Italian has also spent 47 weeks at the top-ranking position on the ATP Tour and is currently showing no signs of relinquishing his spot anytime soon.
While the 23-year-old’s rise to the highest echelon of tennis has been steep, his testing positive for the banned substance clostebol last March has brought him a lot of infamy, as well. After defending his Melbourne crown earlier this year, he accepted a three-month doping ban from WADA and has since been on the sidelines.
Earlier this week, Jannik Sinner was interviewed by Ubitennis ahead of his suspension set to end on May 4. The World No. 1 maintained that the whole ordeal had been very excruciating for him. By the Italian’s own account, his peers being apprehensive of him in the lockerroom and players’ area made him feel worse.
“Did I ever think about giving up? Yes, I did… Before the Australian Open this year, I was in a not so happy moment,” Jannik Sinner told Ubitennis (translated from Italian). “Arriving there in Australia I didn’t feel comfortable in the locker room, where I went to eat… the players looked at me differently. I didn’t like it.”
The three-time Major winner then revealed that “taking some time off” was in his plans after January.
“There, I thought that living tennis that way was really heavy. I thought about taking some time off after Australia,” he added. “Then it went as it went, I didn’t want it to go like this but in the other sense at that moment it did me good.”
Sinner accepted a ban from February 9 to May 4 from WADA after ITIA had let him go scot-free last year after finding him at “no fault nor negligience” in his doping case.
Jannik Sinner: “I needed time with friends and to give priority to the people I love”
During the interaction with the Italian outlet, Jannik Sinner also claimed that he had no problem foregoing his 2024 Rotterdam Open defense since he wanted to recharge his batteries by spending time with family and friends.
“Three months is long… but one reason I didn’t play Rotterdam was precisely that. I needed time with friends and to give priority to the people I love,” he said.
Jannik Sinner will be determined to go deep at the Italian Open next week, provided he is in good mental and physical shape to play at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The 23-year-old has already resumed on-court training and is on the lookout to win his second consecutive Major title at the French Open.
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Edited by Tushar Bahl
