"Jannik Sinner saw the prize money and said 'F**k that'";"Not believable at all" - Fans react to Italian's Paris Masters withdrawal due to virus

Jannik Sinner has pulled out of the ongoing 2024 Rolex Paris Masters, where he was one of the favorites to win the title. The World No. 1 cited a gastrointestinal virus as the reason behind his sudden withdrawal. However, several fans have refused to take the Italian's words at face value.

2024 has so far seen Jannik Sinner consolidate his position in the uppermost echelons of men's tennis. The Italian boasts of an astonishing 65-6 win-loss record and has won two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open, two ATP 500-level events in Rotterdam and Halle, and three Masters 1000 tournaments at Miami, Cincinnati, and Shanghai.

However, the year has also been a controversial one for Jannik Sinner, primarily due to him twice testing positive for the banned substance Clostebol earlier in the season. He was allowed to continue playing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after an independent panel investigated the case and ruled that the Italian was not at fault for the contamination.

Since then, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed the case. WADA is seeking a lengthy ban for Sinner, with the case slated to be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), possibly early next year.

On Tuesday, October 29, Sinner confirmed that he would not be playing at the 2024 Rolex Paris Masters due to a gastrointestinal virus. It was a surprising development considering the fact that the Italian had already arrived in the French capital.

"I came very early to prepare, then felt sick. I have a virus at the moment, which is gonna pass the next 2 or 3 days. Body-wise I’m not ready to compete. I’m very sorry for that," Jannik Sinner said.

Several fans refused to believe Jannik Sinner's explanation as they wrote in the comments section:

"Not believable at all unfortunately lots of questions to be answered with the context. It’s time for some of the so called tennis journalists to do some journalism," a fan wrote.

"The face of a liar and fraud. Sorry not sorry," commented another.

"'I took some Clostebol, they asked me to be tested but I need 2-3 days to get it out of my system'," another chimed in, sarcastically.

Others claimed that the World No. 1's decision stemmed from his 2023 Paris Masters disappointment. Last year, Sinner had initially featured at the event but later withdrew citing scheduling issues after his opening match ended very late. Some also suggested that with the year-end No. 1 position secured, the Italian is focusing on winning the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

"Can easily translate to 'I dont defend points in Paris since last year they f**ked me over with 0 respect and shitty scheduling and my #1 is safe, might as well rest 1 more week to prepare Finals in Torino and Malaga' Either way doesn't matter, see you in Turin," a fan wrote.

"Man looks just fine! Looks like he’s targetting the Year End Finals in Turin for that $4M haha," another added.

"He saw the prize money at stake and said "f that, what am I, a slave??"," commented one fan, seemingly poking fun over Sinner's recent participation at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event, where he won $6 million in prize money.

Sinner recently came under fire after he shared his thoughts on his Six Kings Slam appearance.

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Jannik Sinner was criticized after speaking up about his Six Kings Slam outing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Jannik Sinner (Source: Getty)

The Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia made sports history by offering the most lucrative prize money purse of $6 million. Furthermore, each player who participated in the event received $1.5 million in appearance fees alone. Jannik Sinner won the event after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final, taking home $7.5 million.

Recently, in an interview with Eurosport, Sinner claimed that he had not gone to Riyadh for money's sake, but rather, to compare his level to that of rivals Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, and Holger Rune.

"No, I don't play for money, it's very simple. Of course, it's a nice prize and everything but for me, I went there because there were possibly the six best players in the world, and then you can measure yourself with them. It was also a nice event for me, it was the first time I went to Riyadh and it was nice," Jannik Sinner told Eurosport.

The World No. 1's answer did not impress many fans, who felt that the Italian wasn't being completely honest about his Six Kings Slam participation.