Glory and gloom for Sinner in 2024 with two Grand Slam titles, no straights-set loss and a doping scandal
Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open and US Open but a failed drug test in Indian Wells left a dark ckoud hanging over him
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By the end of 2023, it became clear that Jannik Sinner was going to deliver on expectations of becoming a superstar sooner rather than later. And boy did he deliver in 2024, putting together one of the most formidable seasons of the 21st century.
Sinner compiled a 73-6 record, becoming only the third player in history—male or female—not to suffer a straight-sets loss in a season, following Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Along the way, he captured two Grand Slam titles — in Melbourne and New York — and eight titles overall, while winning the Davis Cup with Italy again as his ninth title and putting the cherry on top of a marvellous season. Not once did he lose before the quarter-finals of any tournament he entered.
With coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi in his corner, Sinner became, to put it simply, a complete player. If you ask his foes, they’ve all noticed the improvements, but tend to emphasise different parts of the Italian’s game.
Since changing his motion, Sinner has displayed more variety in his serve as it became more precise and consistent. At 23 years old now, he has grown into his body and his endurance has improved, as well as his movement. Sinner can easily change the direction of the ball from both sides and he’s worked hard on keeping opponents guessing with the occasional drop shot. What’s scary is that Sinner feels that his game is still a work in progress, but combined with his calm demeanor and mental fortitude, now he is able to win on bad days too, which is the trait of a great player.
It’s not that Sinner’s 2024 was without its struggles, though. He tested positive twice for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol. Despite being cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declared in September that it lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking a period of ineligibility of one to two years, a case that is due to be concluded in early 2025.
“You would have seen a big change in his physicality and excitement to be on the court, it wore him down physically and mentally. He got tonsillitis (and) missed the Olympics,“ said Cahill on the eve of the US Open, when the news about the tests became public.
Many people rightfully wondered whether that would have any effect on Sinner on the court, but he proved them wrong by winning the US Open in dominant fashion, losing only two sets along the way.
He went on to win the Shanghai Masters and then lost only 33 games in five matches en route to lifting the Nitto ATP Finals trophy in Turin.
Greatest Win: After a strong finish to the 2023, the question at the Australian Open was whether Sinner’s body and game can hold up over the course of a best-of-five match. He didn’t lose a set until the semi-finals, where he dominated 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, not allowing him a single break point —6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3. In the final, he held his nerve facing defeat, with veteran-like composure he came from two sets down and beat Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch his maiden major trophy.
What If Moment: There are two. Firstly, Sinner was obviously not at 100 percent in his loss to Medvedev in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, so we missed out on another Sinner—Alcaraz thriller. Secondly, he didn’t get a chance to chase the Olympic medal, but he’s probably got at least three more shots at the golden glory.
Look Ahead: Sinner is not the type to rest on his laurels, you can expect him to work even harder now that he has a target on his back as a convincing world No 1. Also, he had a 0-3 record against Carlos Alcaraz in 2024—all the matches have been close and Sinner will certainly be eager to turn the tables.
