World No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s honest admission on Rome Open return after three-month suspension

Jannik Sinner has only competed in one tournament in 2025. He won the Australian Open after defeating Alexander Zverev in the final on January 26, but has since been sidelined due to a three-month doping suspension. That ban will end in May, and the World No. 1 will be eligible to compete at the Rome Open. The Italian star opened up about his return and offered a candid reflection.

“The first games will be really difficult,” Sinner admitted in a recent interview with ORF Sudtirol, referring to the challenge of regaining match rhythm after such a long absence from the ATP Tour. “Hopefully I’ll be able to get back into the rhythm and then we’ll see how it goes.”

As for how he’s preparing for the comeback, Jannik was direct. “Now that we have less than a month to go, we’re training very, very hard,” he said. The Rome Open is scheduled to begin on May 6, which means the Italian player’s debut is likely a few days later. That gives him nearly two weeks to fine-tune his game.

“Hopefully we’ll get some momentum going again ahead of the clay season,” added Sinner, who knows that in addition to the Rome Open, there’s still one more major tournament on clay this year: Ronald Garros. “It certainly won’t be easy for me,” he admitted.

Sinner will make his ATP Tour return in Rome next month

Sinner finds a silver lining in his suspension

Although the three-month suspension came as a harsh blow—and at a moment when he was dominating the ATP Tour—Jannik Sinner has chosen to focus on the positives that have emerged from the situation. “I think at the beginning of the three months, it was quite nice,” he said.

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He went on to explain how he approached his time away from the sport: “A bit of time away from all the grind, I spent time with family, with friends. I was doing new things and getting to know myself better, finding out where I stand. I think it helped me a lot.”

Sinner remains atop the ATP rankings

During his three-month doping suspension, Jannik Sinner missed out on several major tournaments, including the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid—losing the chance to collect crucial points. However, his top challengers failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

Alexander Zverev, World No. 2, saw a dip in form after losing the Australian Open final and followed it up with disappointing performances in the next few tournaments—a streak he finally snapped last week by winning the title in Munich.

Carlos Alcaraz had a similar run: early exits in Doha, Indian Wells, and Miami were followed by a title in Monte-Carlo and a runner-up finish in Barcelona. He has now withdrawn from Madrid due to physical issues. Given that context, Jannik Sinner will return in May still holding on to the No. 1 spot in the rankings.