According to his former mentor, Jannik Sinner is capable of bouncing back on the Tour when he returns to action following a three-month ban in May.
Ricardo Piatti started to work with Sinner when he was a teenager. At the age of 14, the world No.1 moved from Bordighera to San Candido to train at Piatti’s academy, where he switched his focus fully to the sport. The two continued collaborating on the Tour until 2022 when they decided to go their separate ways. Sinner is now coached on the Tour by Darren Cahill, who will be stepping down at the end of this season, and Simone Vagnozzi.
Speaking to Super Tennis, Piatti has backed Sinner to claim more Grand Slam titles when he returns. The tennis star is currently serving a three-month suspension following a case settlement reached by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Sinner’s legal team concerning two failed drug tests last year. Sinner has always denied deliberately taking a banned substance and stated that he was contaminated with the steroid clostebol by his former physio who was using a spray on his hand that contained the substance. Although WADA argued that he has a certain degree of fault as he is responsible for ensuring that those he hires are following the right protocols.
“I am sure that in these months without being able to play tournaments Sinner has not stopped,” said Piatti.
“He will transform this unpleasant situation into a positive one. I believe he has an important card in his hand to win Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.“
Sinner’s first event in his return will be the Italian Open. He is currently training in Monte Carlo where he had a hitting session with Jack Draper earlier this week. Under the rules of his ban, he is permitted to resume ‘official training activity’ from April 13th.
“The months of stop are not stops for him,” Piatti said of Sinner’s absence from the Tour.
“The pandemic, for example, was one of the most important periods of construction (for Sinner). “In Monte Carlo, he trained three times a week on his body and played tennis every day.”
Sinner has given very few interviews during his absence from the sport. Speaking to Sky Italy earlier this month, he described the case settlement that resulted in his suspension as a ‘lesser evil’ before going on to label it as ‘a bit unfair.’ If a settlement hadn’t been reached, he would have faced a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which could have potentially handed him a longer suspension.
“The decision to take the three-month suspension was rather quick. We accepted it quite quickly, even though I didn’t agree completely. There was a bit of back and forth with my lawyer and the people around me,” said Sinner. “After we took this decision, it took me a while to find myself again.“
“I was very fragile after what happened. I would tell a lie if I said I was a person without feelings or emotions. In life you learn, every year I learn more about myself, also about my value. It was not easy, very hard at times, but the people around me gave me the strength to understand what had happened.” He later added.
Despite his absence, Sinner still leads the PIF ATP rankings by 2210 points ahead of his nearest rival, second place Carlos Alcaraz.
