Jannik Sinner‘s coach, Simone Vagnozzi, has praised the player for the mature way in which he handled his doping saga, which went on for months without anybody knowing.
The only people who knew that Sinner tested positive for a banned substance were the people directly involved—him and his team—and the other side of the organizations that dealt with it.
Nobody else knew about it, not even the media, fellow players, or anyone else involved in the sport, which is weirdly impressive, considering how tightly the situation was handled.
When the news finally broke, it was an avalanche that created ripple effects all around the world, putting Sinner at center stage for several weeks. Even though he’s a major champion and became World No. 1 on the ATP Tour earlier this year, this was the most attention he had received from the media—and not for a good reason.
It was a tough time to deal with, but in the midst of all that, Sinner was able to win both the Cincinnati Open and the US Open. That was a hugely impressive run of results, and it took a lot of maturity for him to do so.
His coach, Simone Vagnozzi, was there for it all and knows just how well Sinner dealt with the situation. The Italian was open about finding it very challenging, which is normal.
Everybody would find it tough; it’s a situation in which he didn’t know for months what the ultimate decision would be. When it finally came in his favor, he was able to relax and return to what he did best, and Vagnozzi recently shared his thoughts about the whole period with Punto de Break.
“Not having any guilt and being aware of it was the most important aspect to overcome that long and complicated period. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, but the way he has dealt with it at 23 years old has been exceptional.”
Sinner has dealt with the situation exceptionally well because even when things were in limbo, he was able to keep his focus on tennis and play well. His run at Roland Garros was very impressive, as he made the semi-final, almost beating Carlos Alcaraz in it.
His Wimbledon run was derailed by health problems, but he was playing really well, too. Now, after he got cleared, he won the US Open and put himself in a great spot to finish the year as the World No. 1.
That’s notable and can’t be ignored, but another thing that’s notable is how accepting his colleagues have been. Some haven’t been impressed by how the situation was handled, but for the most part, a couple of them came out to defend him, which shows how much respect the 23-year-old gets from his colleagues.
“He did not suffer too many attacks from his teammates (I must say few, three or four). You cannot control people, you have to follow your own path. Everyone knows what a boy Jannik is and, in any case, it was enough to read the newspapers to understand what happened.”
