For the last three months, Jannik Sinner has been off the court following a verdict by WADA in an out-of-competition doping case from March 2024. Now that he’s back, many expect him to resume his winning streak. But the Italian star has set low expectations. “It’s a very low expectation tournament in general,” Sinner said during his pre-event press conference. His comment surprised many, but not Patrick Mouratoglou.
On Instagram, Serena Williams’ former coach said, “The first reaction when you hear Jannik say that he has no expectations, you think, ‘What are you talking about? The guy is No. 1 in the world!’ or ‘He’s been winning so much those last months, years. Of course, he was three months off, but it’s difficult not to have expectations.’ But on the other hand, I believe him.”
He added, “I think being out for three months, just watching others competing, winning and not being able to play matches you can train as much as you want.” Sinner hasn’t played since winning the 2025 Australian Open. He missed big events like the Sunshine Double, Monte Carlo Masters, and Madrid, losing nearly 2100 ranking points. That could have cost him the No. 1 spot if others performed better. But Mouratoglou said, “Nothing replaces matches.”
While praising Jannik Sinner’s forehand, backhand, serve, and movement as “great,” Mouratoglou stressed the importance of match practice. “He didn’t play much for a long time now. And it’s difficult to assess where you are. And when you see players are lacking matches, they’re really looking for their game. Every time you work on something at practice, you have to be able to achieve it during the match to really have it inside you. Yeah, his first tournament for Jannik, I think it’s difficult.”
So, what’s Sinner’s reasoning for setting the bar low? He explained, “Results-wise, I don’t know. For me, what’s missing is the complete feedback of where my level is. That’s going to come slowly with time playing. After the first-round match I’m going to have a good picture of myself, where I am at.” This makes sense since Jannik had an impressive 21-match winning streak spanning late 2024 into early 2025.
While it may be a tough challenge, Jannik already has a good start. He’s still at No.1 and just completed 48 weeks in that position in the ATP rankings. With 9,730, he’s still 1645 points ahead of No.2 Alexander Zverev and 1880 points ahead of his rival and No.3 Carlos Alcaraz.
Now, back on home soil for the first time since 2023, all eyes are on Sinner to impress. The last time he played here, he lost in the round of 16 to Francisco Cerundolo. However, he’s improved a lot since then. And while Mouratoglou supports him, he also believes Sinner will find his form after a few matches. He claimed, “He’s not making fun of us.” Additionally, the coach expressed that the handling of Sinner’s case could have been better.
Patrick Mouratoglou comes down hard on the system amidst Sinner’s doping controversy
During his suspension, Sinner opened up about the tough times. He said, “The three months felt very long and tough, especially since I struggled with the locker room atmosphere and the sudden change in how peers treated me.” He even considered quitting tennis, but decided to push through after consulting his lawyer. Despite missing several tournaments, he called it “good news” that he didn’t miss any Grand Slam events amid all the chaos. Patrick Mouratoglou had weighed in on the controversy, calling it “a huge scandal.”
He said on his IG, “It’s not about him being guilty or not, the question is more about how the anti-doping dealt with the situation. Everybody feels that there’s a double standard which is the case clearly.” Mouratoglou added, “It’s very unlikely that he did doping, this is really a personal statement: I don’t think it’s his mindset at all, his mentality to do doping, first. Second, when you find such low levels of a forbidden product in someone, in 90% of the cases, if not more, it is a contamination and the player is a victim so that’s why I think he is innocent.”
Now, after three months away, Sinner is back on the tour and ready to face Mariano Navone in his opening match. The world No. 1 is set to show the grit and determination that got him to the top, despite the nerves and pressure. Will he pick up where he left off and keep climbing the ranks? Share your thoughts below!
The post “I Think It’s Difficult,” Jannik Sinner’s Comeback Meets Brutal Honesty as Serena Williams’ Former Coach Takes His Stance appeared first on EssentiallySports.
