“Feel sorry for Sinner, he has not done anything intentionally” – Ruud on Italian’s doping ban

Casper Ruud, in an interview on Monday, defended Jannik Sinner in the Italian’s drugs case that has kept the tennis world divided to date.

Ruud is in contention at the 2025 Mexican Open in Acapulco while his colleague Sinner serves a ban for failing two doping tests last year. The world No 1 was initially cleared of any wrongdoing by the ITIA but WADA intervened, demanding a period of ineligibility for the player.

Ultimately, Sinner and WADA reached a consensus outside formal proceedings, agreeing on a three-month banishment.

World No 5 Ruud found the outcome unusual but sided with the Italian, pointing to the inefficiencies of the legal framework.

“I feel sorry for Jannik, he has, in my opinion, not done anything intentionally,” he told Ben Rothenberg’s Bounces. “And, you know, it is not the first time it has happened—but it doesn’t happen often—settlements in a doping sentence, which was probably surprising for a few people. When you look at the [legal system], it’s not unusual that it happens when someone is about to go to trial. I mean, there’s many other cases where settlements happened just before a trial.

“So, my understanding, if I was in Jannik’s shoes, of course I would love to have the possibility to defend myself in an open trial, which I’m sure he was going for. But when you go trial, there is—if I try to put myself in his shoes—I mean, if you go to trial, there’s always a risk that you might be found guilty, if the juries or the judges see things in a different way. I mean, look at how many cases in the world someone has gone to jail when he wasn’t guilty, or she wasn’t guilty. So, I mean, there’s always a risk that you might be found guilty even though you aren’t. So, a settlement of three months—or a suspension of three months—was something that both were happy to do.”

sinner will miss four out of nine Masters 1000s for something he didn’t intentionally do.”

Casper Ruud

Sinner’s barred from competing on the ATP tour till May 5, 2025, meaning he won’t be able to fight for the ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid this year.

Highlighting the same, Norway’s Ruud further expressed his disappointment:

“Still, I feel sorry for Jannik, he will be out, he will miss four out of nine Masters 1000s for something he didn’t intentionally do. So I hope he keeps his head high. Me personally, I’m always rooting for him. I think it’s a joy to watch him play, and I hope the three months go by quickly for him. Yeah, It’s just sad for him, and tennis as a sport, when the world No 1 goes through something like this.”

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“Feel sorry for Sinner, he has not done anything intentionally” – Ruud on Italian’s doping ban

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