Jannik Sinner's Weeks At No. 1 To Be Counted Also During Three-Month Ban
News
The ATP has confirmed that Sinner's controversial doping case settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will not stop his weeks at No. 1 from being counted while suspended.
Sinner is banned from February 9th until May 4th after he and WADA agreed on a three-month suspension to end the case. It prevented the Italian from needing to attend his scheduled appeal hearing in April at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The sudden and unexpected announcement left more questions than answers in some regards. One of those related to how Sinner's spot at No. 1 would be treated while he is banned from competing on the ATP Tour.
It was initially unclear whether the suspension just meant he could not play at tournaments and add further ranking points to his lead at the top or if his weeks at No. 1 would not be counted as a punishment for being banned.
The ATP confirmed in a very short e-mail response to UbiTennis that Sinner's weeks would be counted, and there would be no extra punishment for him being banned from ATP tournaments until May 4th.
"His (Sinner’s) weeks as number one will continue to be counted."
Sinner's weeks not being counted could have made a significant difference to world No. 2 Alexander Zverev. If the player in that spot had been awarded the weeks at No. 1 instead, the German would have become No. 1 for the first time.
Carlos Alcaraz, at No. 3, trails Zverev by over 1,000 points in the rankings and cannot overtake him next week even if he wins the ongoing Qatar Open, meaning Zverev would have been guaranteed a week at No. 1 had he been given the spot while Sinner was suspended.
Although becoming No. 1 under any circumstances could have been notable for Zverev, he may not have wanted to achieve it in that manner. Overtaking Sinner with his achievements on the court would be more special.
Zverev can overtake Sinner before he returns to the ATP Tour in May. He currently trails him by slightly over 3,000 points. While this is a significant gap, many tournaments will be played before the Italian can return.
Masters 1000 events at the Indian Wells Open, Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, and Madrid Open are among those. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up's cause will be helped by Sinner dropping the points he won from those tournaments last year.
Alcaraz is the other man who could realistically overtake Sinner before he returns. The 21-year-old trails him by over 4,000 points but still has a chance if he produces his best tennis over the next few months.
Novak Djokovic, ranked No. 7, will not be able to overtake Sinner before he returns. The Serbian generated headlines by saying he had spoken to many players in the locker room who felt Sinner benefited from favoritism in his doping case.
Debates about how the 23-year-old's case was handled will continue. Losing someone of Sinner's immense ability is disappointing regardless of the circumstances, but there will still be many top players for fans to watch.
