Jannik Sinner endured a stressful time in the previous months due to the doping saga, but he's happy that it's finally over, even though it impacted his 2024 US Open preparation.
Fans and the public didn't know about Sinner's doping saga until last week. Back in March, the Italian tested positive for a banned substance, clostebol, twice. It happened during the Sunshine Double, two events in Indian Wells and Miami, the latter of which he ended up winning.
After testing positive, Sinner appealed the provisional suspension, and he was allowed to compete as his explanation was found to be possible and probable. However, it wasn't publicly disclosed.
Despite being allowed to compete, the Italian was still not out of the woods. A formal investigation was underway, the outcome of which would determine whether he would be truly suspended or officially cleared.
That investigation went on for months, and it impacted him. Nobody knew about it because it was kept private, but his results haven't been as amazing in recent weeks compared to the way he played at the start of the year.
Fortunately for him, the investigation ultimately concluded that it was accidental contamination, and he was officially cleared of any wrongdoing.
Then, it was made public, which happened a few days later. It created a news storm in the media for obvious reasons, and he finally publicly addressed it at the US Open on Friday, June 23rd.
"Look, it has been a very long process, no? I had to deal with this already for months. I think we all know for how long I'm talking about. Obviously I had to take now some decisions in base of the outcome. There are some dates you have to respect throughout this whole process, so you can't really choose when it comes out or when it doesn't come out."
While Sinner knew that he was innocent and likely to be cleared, it was not official until it was official. From his perspective, there was always a chance that something could go wrong.
He had to be ready for that or any other scenario. It was just a situation that loomed over his head for a very long time, and it impacted him. Now that it's finally out, Sinner is relieved because he doesn't have to think about it anymore.
He was officially cleared, and everybody knows about the situation know. He can finally fully focus on tennis, although this whole process derailed his US Open preparation.
"In my mind, as I said before, you know, I'm just happy that it's finally out, you know, because it's one kind of relief also for me and my team, which is still here. Obviously because of that, the preparation for this tournament has not been perfect because, you know, of certain circumstances."
"But, you know, it's out. It's something what I was waiting for, you know, waiting for the result. Yeah, so now it's out, and that's it."