World No. 1 Jannik Sinner from Italy shared insights into how the recent doping scandal involving him has affected his performance at the US Open.
Sinner told the US Open press service:
It’s difficult to describe everything, because me and my team and the people who are close to me, they know what I’ve been through in the last months. Obviously it was very difficult for me to enjoy in certain moments. But during this tournament, slowly I restarted to feel a little bit more how I am as a person. Doesn't really matter how or what the result was. So this tournament, for sure, helped me a little bit.
In the US Open final, the Italian defeated American Taylor Fritz with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
To recap, in August 2024, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that in March of this year, the tennis player tested positive for doping twice, but he avoided a lengthy suspension due to the fact that the samples were contaminated by a spray used by his physiotherapist to treat a cut on his finger.
It’s important to note that the Italian lost 400 ATP ranking points and prize money from winning the Masters event in Indian Wells, USA, during which he was taking the doping tests.
Previously, Sinner topped the season prize money leaderboard after his victory at the US Open.