'Not Going To Get Any Easier' For Jannik Sinner With Possible Doping Ban Looming Says Legend
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Jannik Sinner will be defending a Grand Slam title for the first time in his tennis career, but it won't be an easy task for the Italian player.
The 2024 season was a proper rollercoaster for the young Italian. He first won the Australian Open to start the season, and then he continued playing incredibly well to become the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour.
In the meantime, he tested positive for a banned substance at the Indian Wells Open, something he knew about, but the public didn't for a few months.
Later in the season, that case was made public, and Sinner faced tons of questions about it. Still, he was able to win his second Grand Slam title at the US Open.
It seemed like the doping saga was over for him, but that was until the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed it at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which means he can still be banned from competing.
Ahead of the 2025 season, there are many question marks surrounding Sinner's career, as only a few months later, he might not be competing on the ATP Tour at all.
That's something that might be in his head during the Australian Open, as many of his rivals still discuss his case. On top of that, he will have the pressure of being the defending champion.
According to former ATP doubles World No. 1 Mark Woodforde, who spoke to Tennis365, all of this might make it challenging for the young Italian to defend the title in Melbourne.
"He did remarkably well last season, but it is not going to get any easier for him now with the appeal process coming up. There is already a lot of talk about what happens next in this story, but there is a possibility that some kind of suspension may be coming."
"He has already gone through one step of the process and has been able to compartmentalise these issues that have been happening off the court and to just keep his head down."
"Being the defending champion adds another pressure for the young man so it will be fascinating to see how he handles it."
Woodforde observed how Sinner approached the US Open last year, which was his first major after his doping case was made public.
Although the 23-year-old seemingly struggled in the early rounds, once he "got settled," he was able to easily outplay all of his opponents. According to the 59-year-old former player, that's how he should approach also the Australian Open.
"He struggled in the early rounds of the US Open, I felt, and it was fortunate that he was up against guys in the early rounds who didn’t have the belief they could beat him."
"Once he got settled into the tournament, he was looking good all the way and that’s how he would like to approach it again this year."
