Jannik Sinner spoke about the difficulties of staying cheerful while dealing with his doping case, which has been open since March.
The Italian player might be the World No. 1 on the ATP Tour and thriving, but only he knows how he really feels at the moment. Having won his seventh trophy of the season at the 2024 Shanghai Masters, the 23-year-old had plenty of reasons to celebrate, but he didn't necessarily celebrate heavily.
While that wouldn't be new, there might be a reason for it this time. Plenty of tennis players, or athletes in general, don't heavily celebrate their wins.
Daniil Medvedev had some famous non-celebrations in the past, and he wasn't the only one. Some find a certain 'cool' aspect to not celebrating their victories, at least not in front of the crowd at the stadium.
On top of that, Sinner is also known as a big introvert. He is also not a person who would draw a lot of attention for his antics, as he often shies away from any controversies.
Still, some of his most devoted fans might have noticed that he hasn't been smiling as much in recent times. While the reason might be obvious, Sinner himself confirmed that it is related to his doping saga during his post-match press conference following his Shanghai Masters triumph.
"Well, I know this year has been very, very tough for me because of other circumstances, and at points, I lost a little bit of smile because I had some issues off the court, and then they're still in my mind sometimes."
Still, Sinner tried his best to enjoy his achievements during this period, as there were too many for him to celebrate and distract himself from what had been happening away from the tennis courts.
Only recently did he win the US Open, and he has now added another trophy in Shanghai. The 23-year-old doesn't see it only as his own success but also as the success of the people he works with on a daily basis.
"So, it's never easy to play in these kind of circumstances where I am in, but I just tried to enjoy in the best possible way I can on the court. And obviously, success is something great, and then it's nice to say thanks to all the people who are working with me daily, who know me more than most likely all the other people."
Knowing how much energy he needs to expand away from the courts to fight his legal battles, Sinner is trying to avoid having any negative energy on the tennis courts.
"So, I just try to stay very calm, and not making any problems if you miss shots or you get unlucky sometimes, just trying to keep pushing with the best energy I have in that day. Every day's a bit different, so I'm happy how I'm handling, you know, the situations on the court."
"I try to control what I can control, and that's, for sure, the mind, and also the physical aspect you can control. But the rest, you know, you just have to believe, and trying to stay composed, and especially in important moments in a match."
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