Australian Open defending champion Jannik Sinner will face a tough battle on court from his well-known rivals. But his greatest battle in 2025 could come mentally as he takes to the legal courts to ensure the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) remains unsuccessful in their appeal against him.
Sinner had tested positive for a prohibited anabolic steroid, clostebol, in March 2024 and while an independent panel had accepted his explanation, WADA has a different point of view.
They think that the independent panel gave an incorrect verdict when they allowed Sinner to continue playing because he had claimed that the banned substance entered his body from a massage administered by his physiotherapist. The person in question had used this as a part of his own treatment of a cut finger.
WADA are seeking a ban for Sinner but with the case coming for hearing only in February 2025, the Italian will be allowed to participate at the Australian Open. And despite this sword of a potential ban which hangs on his head, Sinner continues to remain a bookmakers’ favourite.
Bet365 and 888Sport are both offering 2/1 for a Sinner win and that’s not such a big surprise given how well he went about his tennis despite the alleged doping issue that made regular news since the story broke out. After winning the 2024 Australian Open, Sinner went on to make the semifinal at the French Open and then clinched his second career major at the US Open.
WADA director general Oliver Niggli did acknowledge there has been a recent increase in the number of players who have tested positive for banned testing like Iga Swiatek because of better testing techniques.
Speaking on her podcast, former tennis player Rennae Stubbs reckons WADA could be looking to make an example of Sinner with a focus on the onus of a player’s team on the player itself.
It will surely be interesting to see how things pan out and whether Sinner can fight off these off-court demons and come out all guns blazing in the season’s first major in Melbourne.
He will have a stiff competition from Carlos Alcaraz (5/2 to win the title), who won the French Open and Wimbledon titles last year and Novak Djokovic (4/1), who has won this tournament 10 times and has brought in Andy Murray into his coaching staff.
