Legendary tennis player Jimmy Connors has declared that he does not believe tennis could survive after Jannik Sinner was banned due to his failed anti-doping tests.
The former world number one believes that officials in the sport have demonstrated in the past that they are not scared to strike and remove players with lower rankings.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the World Anti-Doping Agency had filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, hoping to ban the world No. 1 for a maximum of two years.
When an independent tribunal determined that Sinner was not at fault for failing two anti-doping tests in March, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that he had escaped a ban.
Speaking on an episode of a podcast, Connors said: “It’s his escape. Once he is out on that court, he has too much to think about. His own game, his opponent. He knows what it is going to take to win. But what do you do for the other 20 hours over the rest of the day? I am not so close to it that I understand just what a grain of salt of that does. And to be honest, that’s not my style to be a part of that.”
He added: “Listen, all I know is that I don’t think tennis at that level could survive that to hit a top player. They have shown in the past that they are not afraid to hit lower-ranked players and discard them from the game. But I don’t know if tennis at that level could take.”
Jannik Sinner in 2024
At the moment ranked no.1, Sinner played his last match on the 13th of October when he beat world no.4 Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 6-3
in the final in Shanghai to win his 18th career title.This season Sinner has managed to achieve an overall 65-6 win-loss record. Jannik has won 7 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Shanghai. The Italian was the runner-up in Beijing.
Sinner will compete next in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of October.
Jannik Sinner |
| Embed from Getty Images |
Jannik Sinner in 2024
Ranked no.1, Sinner played his last match on the 13th of October when he defeated world no.4 Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 6-3 in the final in Shanghai to win his 18th career title.
Currently, during this season Jannik achieved an overall 65-6 match record. Sinner clinched 7 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Shanghai. Sinner was the finalist in Beijing.
Sinner will play next in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 28th of October.
Jannik Sinner |
| Embed from Getty Images |