Tennis star Jannik Sinner revealed he considered walking away from the sport over his recent doping suspension.
The world No. 1 is approaching the end of a three-month ban having twice tested positive for banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year.
The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4.
In an interview with Italian state broadcaster RAI, Sinner was asked whether he thought about stepping away from tennis at any time during the ordeal, to which he said he had.
“I remember before the Australian Open this year, it wasn’t a very happy time,” the 23-year-old said. “I didn’t really feel comfortable in the locker room, where we were eating. Players were looking at me differently. I said to myself: ‘Maybe, I need to take some time off after Australia.’ I didn’t want (the ban) though.
“I had a tough time accepting these three months. Because I knew that I didn’t do anything wrong. So why do I have to pay this price? But then we discussed it with my lawyer and about what could have happened in the worst-case scenario and so we decided to accept it.”
The saga around Sinner has shone a spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars.
Sinner, for example, won’t miss any grand slam events during his ban. He also won the U.S.
Open and Australian Open while waiting for a verdict on his suspension.
Recently, Serena Williams said she would have been banned for “20 years” and “gotten grand slams taken away” if the same thing had happened to her. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said that the whole case was “not a good image for our sport.”
But as he prepares to return to action, the Italian says he’s focusing on his preparations before he steps back into competitive action.
“I don’t even want to answer. Everyone is free to say what they want, everyone can judge, but that’s okay,” Sinner said. “It’s important to me that I know how that happened, but above all also of what I went through and it was very difficult.
“I don’t wish it on anyone to really pass as innocent something like that because it wasn’t easy, but we are in a world where everyone can say what they want, so it’s okay.”
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
