Tennis: Sinner denies having received "special treatment" from anti-doping authorities

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner , who is preparing to make his competitive comeback after a controversial three-month doping suspension , has dismissed suggestions that he received preferential treatment from anti-doping authorities.

"I've been criticized a bit for being treated differently, but that's not true. No one gets special treatment," he said in an interview with Rai broadcast Tuesday evening.

"There have been so many hearings (with anti-doping authorities), I have been tested perhaps more than the others," continued the Italian, who is due to make his comeback at the Masters 1000 in Rome (May 7-18).

"I don't want to respond or react (to the critics), they are free to say what they want and judge people. For me, what matters is that I know what happened, it was difficult and I wouldn't wish anyone to go from being innocent to going through what I went through," added the winner of the last Australian Open.

Having tested positive for clostebol in March 2024, Sinner explained the presence of this anabolic in his samples by accidental contamination, via a massage given by a member of his entourage.

He was initially cleared by the Tennis Integrity Agency (ITA), a decision that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to request a one to two-year suspension.

In early February, Sinner and WADA reached an agreement for a three-month suspension that will end on May 4, an agreement criticized by several players, active and retired, as well as his compatriot and Olympic swimming champion, Federica Pellegrini.

"In my opinion, when there is contamination, as happened to me, or if you absorb something while eating without realizing it, as can happen, and the doctors say that it does not give you more strength or lucidity, it is a different matter, there is a whole protocol," Sinner insisted.

"I really had a hard time accepting the three-month suspension because in my mind, I didn't do anything wrong," he said.

The Italian returned to his 2024 season under threat of a long suspension, which did not prevent him from winning eight titles, including the Australian Open, the US Open and the ATP Masters.

"I didn't feel like a player should feel on the court. You train to enjoy yourself by playing big matches, and that enjoyment was disappearing day after day," he admitted. During "those 12 months of difficulty," he said he hit rock bottom in January at the Australian Open, feeling like "giving up on everything."

"I didn't feel comfortable in the locker room, in the tournament restaurant, the other players looked at me differently," he said. "I didn't like it at all, I thought that living tennis like that was really weighing on me."