Jannik Sinner’s ‘staggering’ prize money revealed after failed doping test

Jannik Sinner is enjoying the best year of his career but many believe he should have been out for most of 2024 after failing two drug tests in March.

Sinner tested positive for the anabolic steroid twice in March, but on August 20 an independent court found he was not guilty and imposed no punishment.

The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the banned substance entered his body as a result of a massage from his physiotherapist, who used a spray containing a steroid to treat a cut on his finger.

However, WADA asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to impose a ban of up to two years on the 23-year-old Italian after an appeal was lodged last month.

WADA said in a statement: “In WADA’s view, a finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ is not consistent with the applicable rules.

“WADA is seeking a ban of one to two years. “WADA is not seeking to disqualify any results other than those already imposed by the trial tribunal.”

Sinner may have expected to be suspended from tennis for failing a doping test, but he was allowed to continue and won the Miami Open title in his first competition after being informed of the incident by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA ).

The victory secured him a $1,100,000 prize money check, and he backed it up by earning €274,425 after reaching the semi-finals of the Masters in Monte Carlo and €161,995 for his quarter-final performance at the Masters in Madrid.

He won €650,000 for his French Open semi-final, €421,790 for winning the Halle grass court tournament and £375,000 for his quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon.

Sinner received $170,940 in prize money for his quarterfinal performance at the Canadian Open in August, while he also received $1,049,460 for winning the Cincinnati Masters and $3,600,000 for winning the US Open.

A loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final added $374,340 to his total, and after winning the Shanghai Masters he received $1,100,000.

Add to that the $6 million he earned for winning the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, and he has earned a staggering $13,970,000 since failing a drug test at the Indian Wells Masters eight months ago.

If Sinner had been banned while he waited for the ITIA verdict on his case, as many players have been after failing a drug test, he would have returned to play at the US Open.

However, Sinner’s reputation and potential earnings in 2024 would have suffered if he served his drug ban, and the life-changing amount of money he won this year underlines how important the ITIA’s decision was to allow him to continue playing. was dedicated to the short and long term history of tennis.

WADA’s appeal ensures this explosive story will continue into 2025, and Sinner is now revealing for the first time just how big of a difference it has made for him.

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Now Siner has given his verdict on the events of the last few months as his interview with Sky Sport Uno in Italy, recorded last month, has been published.

“There are a lot of things that happened during this period that I tried to put aside and figure out what was the right thing to do at that moment,” Sinner said.

“I’m talking about myself now, I have to thank my team, which was by my side all this time because I needed it. For example, Darren did not go home to Australia, but came to me, he was with me, my father came. They made me feel safe. Protected.

“And it is for this reason that when I say that when you win tournaments or even matches that mean a lot, I always dedicate them to the people close to me, because without them I don’t know how I would have been able to overcome all the difficulties. this.

“I’m happy with how I handled it because it was very difficult. But the moment I step onto the court and put on my cap, for me there is only a tennis ball.

“I feel safe on the court. Then we saw that it was difficult to play like that, but that’s another question. But I feel safe.

“When I see the ball and am about to serve, all my attention and desire are directed to hitting the ball on the court. Because at the end of the day, this is my job and my passion. The problem and the work had to be divided.”

Sinner went on to reveal that his confusion reached boiling point the night before he faced Daniil Medvedev in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July as he struggled to complete the match due to physical problems.

“I always tried to feel good on the court, I always trained, I always mentally prepared myself to play good tennis, and in the end that’s the reason I succeeded. Also because this is the most important thing, if I knew that it was my fault, I would not, in my opinion, play like that.

“It was difficult, first of all, because I couldn’t open up to many people,” he added. “It was a very difficult period because I didn’t know how to behave personally, I didn’t know what would come of it, I didn’t know what would happen with the team.

“It was very difficult, usually I always keep the situation under control, but here it was quite easy to lose control.

“A few weeks later I woke up one morning and said, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’ I didn’t know anything, and so for me it was already over, what comes out of the judge, what may or may not come out, in the end, I can no longer control, right?”

“Of course it was difficult when I knew, but it didn’t work out yet.”