Will 2024 be remembered as the year Jannik Sinner produced one of the all-time great seasons or for the doping asterisk attached to his results? The jury is, quite literally, still out.
On Sunday, Sinner clinched back-to-back Davis Cup titles for Italy, after a one-sided final against Netherlands. But Sinner admitted he is still weighed down by an upcoming appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which could see him banned from tennis for up to two years.
“Of course it’s in the head a little bit,” Sinner said, when asked whether he could fully enjoy Sunday’s victory. “For me, the most important part is that all the people who know me as a human being trust me, no? That’s also the reason I kept playing the level I had. I had some ups and downs, and I was emotionally a bit heartbroken, but sometimes life gives you difficulties and you just have to stand for it.”
As well as the Davis Cup, Sinner won eight individual titles this year, including his first two grand slams in Melbourne and New York and the ATP Finals. He finished as the year-end world No 1 with a 73-6 win-loss record, the first player since Andy Murray in 2016 to record more than 70 wins in a season. It is short of the 80+ wins the ‘Big Three’ all achieved at least once in their careers, but it is still remarkable considering Sinner is only 23 years old.
In August, the world was shocked by the news that Sinner had tested positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol on two occasions in March, and that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had already found he bore “no fault or negligence”. The ITIA accepted Sinner’s version of events, that his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi had inadvertently massaged a healing spray onto his skin which contained clostebol. A member of the ITIA tribunal said that, due to the “minute” quantities found in Sinner’s system, it would not have had “any relevant doping or performance enhancing” effects on his body.
That could well have been that. But just over a month later, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) delivered a curveball: it was appealing the ITIA ruling of “no fault or negligence” via CAS, and seeking a ban of “between one and two years”. That appeal is yet to be heard, and is not expected to be until next year. It means a dark, unresolved cloud continues to dull Sinner’s shine.
Doubters within the sport have been vocal. Some questioned why the positive tests were not made public by the ITIA until after the fact – including Nick Kyrgios and Tallon Griekspoor, Sinner’s opponent on Sunday night. Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis put it succinctly when asked about the WADA case after the final: “We never know what happened.”
There has been no suggestion that any of Sinner’s results be disqualified but, if WADA’s appeal is supported by CAS, a ban could significantly derail his career and will inevitably impact the fascinating three-pronged rivalry between him, 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and veteran Novak Djokovic.
This Davis Cup was further evidence of how Sinner established himself as the man to beat, operating at a near-unstoppable level since August, winning 29 of his last 30 singles matches.
It was always going to be an uphill battle for Griekspoor, who had three previous losses to Sinner this season. He put up a fight, just as his first-time finalists Dutch team had done all week – even beating Spain in the quarter-final to send Rafael Nadal into retirement. But their underdog story fell short after Matteo Berrettini demolished Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4 6-2 and then Sinner’s punishing racket delivered a blistering ace to seal a 7-6, 6-2 win over Griekspoor.
Sinner lifted his arms in victory with a wan smile then and, while his team-mates bounced around the court celebrating, he calmly shook hands with every member of the losing team. That quiet humility has contributed to his reputation as one of sport’s understated stars. Whether that reputation will survive an extended doping ban is still hanging in the balance.
