Doping appeal overshadows Sinner’s Australian Open success

Jannik Sinner powered to the Australian Open title on Sunday night, but uncertainty surrounding his impending doping appeal has taken the shine off the Italian’s third Grand Slam trophy.

The 23-year-old has a hearing on April 16 and 17 where the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will appeal the ruling on his two failed drug tests in March 2024.

Sinner was found to bear “no fault of negligence” for the positive tests for the banned substance clostebol, but WADA is still seeking a ban for the world No.1.

Despite his success in Melbourne, questions regarding the upcoming hearing dominated Sinner’s post-final press conference.

“I’m not thinking at the moment about like this,” Sinner said when asked the first of three questions about WADA’s appeal.

“I just came off an amazing run again here. I want to enjoy this moment, to be honest.

“Then it’s the hearing. We now know the dates, and that’s it.

“I mean, I want to enjoy this one now.”

With Sinner having also faced background noise surrounding his doping appeal during the US Open, he explained how challenging it has been to focus on tennis.

“It’s actually tough to describe,” he said.

“Many, many things happen off the court, what you maybe don’t know.

“When I go on the court, even if sometimes it’s very difficult to block these kind of things, I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me.

“That for me is even more important because I can talk with them, very openly with them. That’s it.

“When I go on court, I try to focus on the match.

“I know the match can be three, four, five hours, but that’s the gap of the day where I have to be very focused.

“Obviously also in the gym, trying to stay into your routine, then you think a bit less about what’s happening.

“Of course, it’s still a little bit in the back of your mind.

“I know that I’m in this position now, so nothing I can change.”

Should WADA be successful in its appeal, Sinner will likely miss the next three Grand Slams even if he is handed a relatively light suspension.

His absence would drastically reshuffle outright betting odds across the year’s remaining majors at tennis bookmakers.

Sinner is favourite to win the US Open, paying $2.62 at Neds to defend his title.

He also sits on the second line of betting for both the French Open ($3.50) and Wimbledon ($2.75), behind his rival Carlos Alcaraz on most top betting apps.

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