Jannik Sinner: Rome return means “more than any result”

ROME, Italy—For Jannik Sinner, Saturday’s return to action at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia was much more about the moment than the match.

“It has been amazing to go again on court after such a long time, having a great support also in the last days,” Sinner said after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Mariano Navone, his first after serving a three-month doping suspension. “From the first day I came here, it has been amazing.”

Read more: A complete timeline of Jannik Sinner's doping case saga

The world No. 1 has been off the court since winning his third Grand Slam at the 2025 Australian Open, having accepted settlement offered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for a case stemming from positive tests for the banned substance Clostebol in 2024.

WADA appealed an initial ruling from the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA), which initially opted against handing Sinner a suspension.

Sinner’s ban expired in time to play his home tournament, the top seed receiving a hero’s welcome from the Italian fans.

“I was waiting for this moment quite a long time,” Sinner said. “Really it doesn't matter as much as all the rest matters. So, I'm very happy about today. Obviously happy to play at least one more match here, then we see how it goes.”

Dressed in all black, Sinner played strong tennis throughout the two sets against Navone to book a third-round meeting with lucky loser Jesper de Jong.

“I feel like we prepared ourself in the best possible way,” Sinner said of himself and his team, led by coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi. “Of course, I was missing the feedback of official matches, which are the best feedbacks we player can get. At least now I have a bigger picture of what I'm doing well and what I have to improve.”

We have to live with doubts because it means that you really care, that you want to improve, that you want to show yourself, that you want to do something special. Jannik Sinner

Despite the confident start, Sinner revealed feeling his share of doubts throughout the suspension, fearing he might not come back in the form that helped him dominate much of the last 14 months.

“Would be strange to don't have any doubts,” mused Sinner. “Would sound very arrogant, no?

“I had doubts before going on court today. I have doubts now what's going to happen in the next match. But we have to live with doubts because it means that you really care, that you want to improve, that you want to show yourself, that you want to do something special.”

The over 10,000 spectators who watched Sinner on Campo Centrale Saturday night—plus the hundreds more who flocked to Foro Italico to catch a glimpse from outside—might argue he already did something special. He’ll come back in two days to try and do it again.