Jannik Sinner of Italy speaks to the media during a press conference ahead of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Aug. 23, 2024, in New York City.Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner fired his fitness trainer and physiotherapist because of his two positive steroid tests in March and said Friday at his pre-U.S. Open news conference that he knew he was innocent but still worried about what the case’s outcome would be until finding out he wouldn’t be suspended.
“It has been a very tough moment for me and my team,” Sinner said at the site of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, where he is the No. 1-seeded man. “It still is.”
Play begins Monday at Flushing Meadows. Sinner is scheduled to meet first-round opponent Mackie McDonald, an American ranked 140th, on Tuesday. McDonald got into the U.S. Open field when Rafael Nadal withdrew earlier this month.
“It’s not ideal,” Sinner said with a bit of a chuckle when he was asked about the timing of this week’s news of his doping case.
He also called the outcome “a relief.”