Jannik Sinner finally appears on official entry list of the tournament of his return as ban end nears

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is all set to make his comeback on the ATP Tour as his three-month ban comes to an end. The Italian officially entered his name at the 2025 Italian Open, the event where he will play after his ban ends.

Sinner's doping controversy began last year ahead of the US Open, when it was made public that he had failed two doping tests back in March 2024, due to a banned substance, Clostebol, being found in his system. Even though the ATP and the ITIA cleared the Italian of any intentional wrongdoing, WADA pursued the case, demanding a stricter punishment for Sinner in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

However, in an interesting turn of events, WADA reversed its aggressive stance and settled the matter with Sinner before the CAS trial, giving the Italian a three-month ban in February. The World No. 1 accepted the ban and decided to forego several key tournaments.

Since his ban dates came to light, it was widely speculated that Sinner would make his comeback on his home turf at the 2025 Italian Open, ahead of the French Open. A fan page of the Italian player shared the Italian entering his name officially at the Masters 1000 event.

Sinner will be leading the 78-man field in Rome, with Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, and Novak Djokovic as the next four seeds. The Italian does not have a particularly good record in Rome, reaching the quarterfinals only once in 2022.

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Jannik Sinner remains the World No. 1 despite a doping ban

In Picture: Jannik Sinner (Getty)

Despite being out of action for three months, Jannik Sinner maintains a lead of over 2000 points over second-placed Alexander Zverev on the ATP rankings. When the Italians' ban came to light, it was expected that the likes of Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz would topple Sinner or, at the very least, reduce the gap to the top.

However, both Zverev and Alcaraz's results have been very inconsistent in recent months, with both failing to defend their substantial amount of points in the Sunshine Double from last year.

Alcaraz won the title at Indian Wells and reached the quarterfinals in Miami last year but failed to defend those points as he lost in the semifinal in Indian Wells against Jack Draper and had a shock loss against David Goffin in the opening round in Miami.

Meanwhile, Zverev lost in his first match against Learner Tien at Indian Wells this year, failing to make any headway in the points. The German player failed to defend his semifinal points from Miami last year, as he lost against Arthur Fils in the Round of 16 this year.

With both Alcaraz's and Zverev's form in decline and Sinner coming back in time for the French Open, this will give the Italian a further chance to strengthen his grip on the No.1 ranking.