Jannik Sinner Return: What to Expect from World No. 1 as He Gets Back into Tennis After Doping Ban

Jannik Sinner Return: What to Expect from World No. 1 as He Gets Back into Tennis After Doping Ban

Jannik Sinner is only a few weeks away from his tennis return, and there is a lot of chatter about what might happen once he does return. We thought it was time to throw our own predictions into the mix, so let’s take a closer look at what might happen with Sinner as he returns from his doping ban.

The last time Sinner stood on a tennis court was in Australia in January. The last official match he played was on January 26th, and he won that match against Alexander Zverev. Sinner only contested seven matches in 2025 and won all of them, so it’s safe to say that he’s been amazing when he played.

That doesn’t mean that he’ll be brilliant immediately upon his return, but there are a few things that might point to that happening. While Sinner was away from the sport, nobody really shined in his absence. Alcaraz had a few moments, and some other players did too, but nobody played so well that there is consensus about them being ahead of Sinner.

In fact, the peak tennis we’ve seen this year does belong to Sinner in Australia, and it’s not even close. So Sinner should be really good upon his return. After all, he didn’t just lounge on his couch the entire time. He did take some time off, but knowing Sinner, he also worked a lot on his game. Whenever he’s had a long time away from the sport, Sinner returned as the more complete version of himself.

He’s also been practicing with some of the tour players, being spotted with Jack Draper not too long ago. He’s also been prepping on clay, which is a surface that’s very familiar to him and a surface on which he plays really solid tennis.

From a purely tennis standpoint, Sinner should be fine, and he should be good right away because the consistency which he built up over the past year won’t go away that easily, especially not on clay, which might be one of the surfaces that is more forgiving than some other ones.

But none of this means that things will go smoothly, of course. There are indications historically that things might be somewhat tough for Sinner, at least in his first rodeo, which will be at the Italian Open.

What Could Go Wrong for Sinner?

2025 Australian Open - Day 13 - Source: Getty

Sinner has missed time in the past, and unlike most players, he was generally able to get back into the swing of things rather quickly. It’s a testament to how much he works on his game because even some of the best aren’t as sharp as he tends to be upon his return from a long absence.

A prime example was last year after his tonsillitis, when he was able to win an event quickly upon his return despite being rather ill with it for a while. That bodes well for the Italian, but things can go wrong as well. Life is rarely perfect, and as a player who has had issues with his body in the past, Sinner might experience physical trouble.

While he’s worked a lot on his body and improved both his stamina and his strength, he still appears a bit frail. He doesn’t look as physically imposing as somebody like Carlos Alcaraz or Rafael Nadal despite being in fantastic shape.

Jumping back into competitive tennis might put his body under a lot more stress than it’s been used to in the past few months, and that might result in injury. Everybody hopes that it doesn’t happen, but there is a chance, especially since he’s had a history with minor and nagging injuries like that.

That is the biggest issue that Sinner could face because purely from a tennis standpoint, he should be good to go immediately. If he doesn’t play his best tennis immediately, it won’t be a massive issue either because he will have time to figure things out.

The Italian will give himself a chance to play a couple of matches, and he might even opt to play at a smaller event like Geneva after that one just to get some match fitness.

Roland Garros is a goal for him, and while it might not be a realistic goal, that event will give him a chance to play himself into shape as well with the early rounds. He’s done amazing there last year and is expected to be one of the contenders if he returns well.

Overall, we should expect Sinner to come back in top form, possibly as an even better version of himself, and he shouldn’t have massive problems getting back into the swing of things. He’s just that good a player, and a couple of months of playing won’t change that.