Carlos Alcaraz sympathizes with Jannik Sinner after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) called for the World No. 1 to be banned “between one and two years” for failing two drug tests earlier this year.
Yet, the Spaniard admits his rival being involved in a doping row is “not a good sign” for the sport of tennis.
After his dominant win over Tallon Griekspoor in the China Open on Sunday, Alcaraz recalled being in New York for the U.S. Open when news first broke of Sinner testing positive for a steroid in March 2024. Alcaraz noted that everyone started to view Sinner “in a different way” even as the Italian was cleared by the ITIA after a tribunal determined he was accidentally contaminated with the steroid by his physio.
“I think for tennis it’s not really good, not really a good sign for tennis in general,” Alcaraz said, via EuroSport. “I thought it [the doping case] was closed. This month I didn’t know what happened exactly. I just saw the news and it surprised me a little bit. Okay, what’s going on, that the case is open again? I don’t know how it’s going to be the next [few] months. For sure, to tennis, not a good sign.”
Alcaraz hoped for Sinner’s sake that the doping case would be closed soon so he could “focus on what he loves,” which is playing tennis at the highest level.
In the aftermath of WADA appealing Sinner’s case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the 23-year-old Italian issued a statement expressing shock and disappointment at the turn of events. While vowing to fight for his innocence, Sinner highlighted how he was cleared by the ITIA and the Italian anti-doping authority after months of investigations culminated in three judges scrutinizing his case.
Sinner questioned “what will be gained” by WADA asking a different set of judges to “look at the same facts and documentation” when he was previously cleared by other judges.
The Italian will face Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinal of the China Open on Monday. Despite the doping row, he has maintained a calm disposition in his matches and news conferences.