Sinner 'not naming names' for messages he did and didn't receive during doping ban

ROME — Jannik Sinner was just as surprised by which fellow players sent him messages of support at the start of his three-month doping ban as those who sent nothing.

The top-ranked player is returning to tennis at the Italian Open this week after his settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency raised questions, since it conveniently allowed Sinner not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.

''At the start of the suspension I received some surprising messages from some players, whereas there were others who I would have expected to hear from that didn't send anything,'' Sinner said. ''But I'm not going to name names.''

The settlement was made after WADA appealed a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to fully exonerate Sinner for what it deemed to be an accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid in March 2024.

Many fellow pros feel Sinner was treated too lightly and Sinner recently discussed how he didn't really feel comfortable in the locker room and the players' lounge during his run to a second straight Australian Open title in January, noting that ''players were looking at me differently.''

Coach Simone Vagnozzi said that he and Darren Cahill, Sinner's other coach, also sensed the glares.

''When something like that happens I think it's almost inevitable to have everyone looking at you. But there have also been some nice things said,'' Vagnozzi said, highlighting comments he appreciated from Holger Rune's mom, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev.

In the final month of his ban, Sinner practiced with Jack Draper, Lorenzo Sonego and Rune at his training base in Monaco.

Sinner couldn't watch friends compete

At the start of his suspension, Sinner was banned from entering any sanctioned sports event.

''I wanted to support my friends in cycling or motorsport,'' Sinner said. ''I couldn't go there. That for me was the toughest part.''

In March, professional cyclist Giulio Ciccone posted a photo on Instagram of himself posing during a bike outing with Sinner and Ferrari endurance drivers Alberto Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Vagnozzi wants help coaching Sinner

Cahill has announced he will retire at the end of the year and Vagnozzi was asked if he would consider then coaching Sinner on his own.

''I would be able to do it on my own," Vagnozzi said. "But with players of this level it's important to have another viewpoint. And it's important to sometimes split up the weeks you spend with the player. Otherwise it's a 365-day/year job and that's a bit much.

''But I'm hoping that Darren stays on for another five years, because we have such a great relationship. He might be the best coach ever in terms of results and other factors.''

Vagnozzi referred to how Sinner is the fourth player the Australian has coached to No. 1 after Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep. ''But most of all, he's a special person.''

Sinner plays on Saturday

Sinner will play his opening match on Saturday against No. 99 Mariano Navone, who beat 18-year-old Italian wild card Federico Cinà 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday. Sinner enters on a 21-match winning streak but hasn't played an official match since January.

Also, the red clay at the Foro Italico is not Sinner's best surface. Only one of his 19 career titles has come on the dirt, in Umag, Croatia, in 2022.

''It's definitely the surface where he is the least sure of himself,'' Vagnozzi said. ''But last year he had a good clay season, reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and the French Open and the quarterfinals in Madrid. … So I think he can do well here, too.''

The last Italian man to win the Rome title was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis