Jannik Sinner Adds New Tournament To His Schedule After Return From Ban
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Jannik Sinner is starting to build his schedule after he will return from his three-month doping ban, and it will include tournaments that he has never played before.
Sinner, like many top players, has the privilege of choosing to play in the tournaments that he wants to play in. That means he can create the schedule months in advance, as he can sign up for any tournament that he wants.
That is, of course, different for lower-ranked players, who might need to choose their schedule based on the strength of the field. However, in 2025, Sinner's situation changed a little bit.
He was suspended for three months after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which appealed the "no fault or negligence" resolution that the International Tennis Integrity Agency reached.
That means Sinner wasn't allowed to compete at the Qatar Open in Doha, which he had on his calendar, and he was also forced to miss the Indian Wells Open.
Now, the Italian player will also miss the Miami Open, where he is the defending champion, and he will also miss the Monte-Carlo Masters (which he would have likely skipped regardless), and the Madrid Open.
The reigning World No. 1 player will return to the sport at the Italian Open in Rome, unless he experiences an injury setback during his time away from the courts. The tournament in the Italian capital runs from May 7th until 18th.
There is then only one more week between the tournament in Rome and the start of the French Open. That's the week when most of the players usually choose to rest and move to the Roland Garros venue to prepare for the only clay-court Grand Slam.
But that won't be the case for Sinner. Likely because of having to miss all previous clay-court tournaments, except for the Italian Open, the 23-year-old player wants to ensure some play time on the red dirt before the Roland Garros.
That's why he signed up for the 2025 Hamburg Open, which will be played from May 18th until 24th. The Hamburg Open is an ATP 500 tournament, and Sinner will compete in Hamburg for the first time in his tennis career.
"I'm excited to make my debut at the Hamburg Open, a tournament with a lot of history in our sport. The fans always create a fantastic atmosphere on the beautiful center court. I'm looking forward to playing at Rothenbaum in May and can’t wait to finally visit Hamburg."
The tournament director, Enric Molina Mur, also provided a statement after securing Sinner's participation. Molina Mur called it "a historic moment" for the tournament.
The Italian will be the first World No. 1 player in almost two decades to compete at the Hamburg Open (unless he loses his 3,385-point lead). The last World No. 1 who competed in Hamburg was Roger Federer in 2008.
"The participation of Jannik Sinner, the current world number one and three-time Grand Slam winner, is an enormous milestone for our tournament and a historic moment. We are very proud and excited to offer our fans a true tennis festival with Jannik and all the other top players that will no doubt light up the courts."
Sinner joined the likes of Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Gael Monfils, who have signed up for the tournament previously.
Although Sinner has already committed to playing in Hamburg, there is still a chance that if he has a successful run in Rome, he could choose to skip the Hamburg Open, feeling his preparation would be sufficient.
