Jannik Sinner spoke openly about the impact of his failed anti-doping tests after his US Open triumph and admitted the controversy is still in his mind. 

The world No 1 revealed the situation made it “very difficult” for him to enjoy “certain moments” of his title run, but expressed his satisfaction over how he handled it.

Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the final of the 2024 US Open to secure his maiden title at the New York major and his second Grand Slam crown overall.

The Italian star won the first two sets decisively, before recovering from a 3-5 deficit in the third set to seal an impressive victory against the 26-year-old American.

The 23-year-old, who claimed his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, now holds a lead of over 4,000 points at the top of the ATP Rankings.

Sinner has won six titles and remains undefeated in finals in what has been a superb 2024 campaign to date.

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Following his win against Fritz, Sinner addressed the challenge of playing the US Open shortly after the news of his failed anti-doping tests was made public.

“I’m happy how I handled this one. I’m just excited to have this trophy with me,” Sinner said in his press conference.

“It was and it’s still a little bit in my mind. It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus about the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. Obviously it was very difficult for me to enjoy in certain moments.

“Also, how I behaved or how I walked on the court in certain tournaments before, it was not the same as I used to be, so whoever knows me better, they know that something was wrong. But during this tournament, slowly I restarted to feel a little bit more how I am as a person.

“It was not easy, that’s for sure, but in the other way I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job mentally staying there every point I play, and that’s it.”

The world No 1 added: “The general reaction of the players was quite positive, even when things came out.

“Then there have been, of course, some different voices, but this is in everything. This is not only in tennis. This is in other sports and different jobs also.

“You can’t really do anything about that. That’s why you have the people close to you, these are the people who knows what was going on and what I and my team went through because it was not only me; it was the whole situation.

“I just can talk from my side and from my team’s perspective, and we are all very proud of this achievement.”

The week before the US Open, The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Sinner had avoided a ban for failing two anti-doping tests in March as it was ruled he bore “no fault or negligence.”

Sinner tested positive for low levels of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, on March 10 and 18 — during and after the Indian Wells Masters.

The Italian received an automatic provisional suspension for each test, but he was allowed to continue playing after swiftly appealing to an independent tribunal for both instances.

The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his system “as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.”

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