Jannik Sinner returns to action at the Italian Open after the conclusion of the World No 1’s three-month doping ban.
Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open in January for his third grand slam title after the Italian reached a resolution agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The 23-year-old reached a controversial settlement with WADA, who were pushing for a ban of between one and two years at the Court of Arbitration for Sport after he twice tested positive for a banned substance.
But Sinner is now able to return at his home tournament in Rome as he looks to build towards the next grand slam at the French Open later this month.
As World No 1, Sinner will get a bye to the next round and will play Mariono Navone in his opening match of the tournament.
When will Sinner play his first match?
The Italian Open has confirmed that Sinner will play his first match of the tournament on Saturday May 10. Sinner is on a 21-match winning run, with his last defeat coming to Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final last season.
Should Sinner progress past Navone, he could potentially face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round and Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in round four. Cerundolo defeated Sinner at the Italian Open in 2023.
His projected quarter-final opponent is Madrid Open champion and two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud while Sinner is in a different half of the draw to Alcaraz, who is seeded third, behind World No 2 Alexander Zverev.
Sinner returns to the Italian Open still holding on to his position at World No 1 and has admitted his expectations for the tournament are “very, very low” after three months away from competition.
“The body still has to adjust, the blisters in hands,” Sinner explained. “I'm just very happy, very curious to see where I am at.”
