Jannik Sinner revealed he was close to taking an extended break from tennis

World No. 1 Sinner is currently serving a three-month suspension from tennis after he tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid in March 2024.

He will return to action at the Rome Masters next month and in an interview with Italian broadcaster TG1, he has revealed he was close to stepping away from the game at the start of 2025 as he "did not feel at ease in the locker room" as the fall out from his failing doping test rumbled on.

Some players were supportive of Sinner and others questioned his right to continue playing after his failed drug test, with the player who went on to win the Australian Open revealing he was tempted to step away from the game prior to the tournament.

"I remember before the Australian Open this year, I was in a not so happy moment," said Sinner.

"In Australia, I didn't feel at ease in the locker room or at the restaurant, the players looked at me differently and I didn't like it at all. There I thought that living tennis in that way was really hard: I've always been someone who took tennis jokingly, I thought about taking some time off after Australia.

"The way I felt on the court is not the way a player should feel. We work hard to have fun during a match, but that fun, day after day, had disappeared. I was thinking about something else.

"Then it went the way it went, I didn't want it to go that way but in the other sense at that moment it did me good. Three months is too much, but one reason why I didn't play in Rotterdam was precisely that. I needed some different time, with friends, giving priority to the people who love me.

"The luck I had was that the people around me helped me a lot and believed in me, they supported me a lot during those moments. I'm talking about my team, my family.

"I built my own bubble where no one else could enter; that gave me the will to continue and return, and prepare well for the Grand Slams, where last year I played very well. Everything went well, even though I didn't feel like a happy person on the court."

When asked if he was concerned some critics would continue to question him, he suggested he accepts his case will divide opinion.

"Everyone is free to judge and say what they want, but for me, it's important to know what happened and what I went through," he added. "It was very tough, I wouldn't wish for anyone to go through being seen as innocent for something like that. But we're in a world where everyone can say what they want, so it's alright."

Sinner has comfortably retained the world No 1 ranking despite his three-month absence from tennis and with Novak Djokovic pulling out of the Rome Masters and Carlos Alcaraz unlikely to play due to injury, the Italian hero will return as the strong favouirte to win his first tournament back and extendd his points advtange at the top of the ATP Rankings.

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