Tennis world number one has been the headline man for over a year – and for more reasons than just his successes on the court.
Much surrounding the Italian has revolved around the relatively low penalty, that he got off lightly. Similar cases have resulted in two-year suspensions. Was he treated specially as world number one?
Something Sinner denies in an interview with Italian TV channel Rai.
I have been criticized for being treated differently, but it's not true. I have had to go through many interrogations and they have probably tested me more than others.
Two positive tests
What matters to me is that I know what I've been through. It was tough and I wish no one to go through it as innocent.
Sinner submitted two positive tests in March last year. He was initially cleared since it turned out that he had unintentionally ingested the banned anabolic steroid clostebol. It was supposed to have happened through a massage by his physiotherapist, who had injured his finger and therefore used a salve for the injury.
But the international anti-doping organization Wada appealed the decision and wanted to see Sinner suspended for two years. An agreement was reached and in February, the Italian was suspended for three months.
Wada acknowledges that Sinner did not intend to cheat and that the contamination was not performance-enhancing. He is also not considered responsible for having ingested clostebol.
I really had a hard time accepting the three months because I don't think I did anything wrong, says Sinner.
He also says that it took him hard to have the doping allegations hanging over him. He was struck by thoughts of quitting.
Comeback in Rome
I was not comfortable in the locker room, the other players looked at me in a different way than before.
I didn't like it at all. I felt that it was too much with that atmosphere. I was always someone who joked, who went into the locker room and talked to anyone, but it became different, I felt uncomfortable.
Despite this, Sinner won the title in Australian Open in Melbourne for the second year in a row.
On May 7, he is free to play again. The comeback takes place on the clay in Rome, for most a warm-up for the French Championships, the year's second Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros in Paris.
