Jannik Sinner took his first steps on the clay courts of the Madrid Open on Saturday 20 April. By that time, although the rankings did not yet reflect it, Sinner was undeniably the best player in the world. He had won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open in January before embarking on a spectacular, consistent run. His pre‑tournament interviews in the subsequent days were dominated by his budding rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, a match-up that many believe will define the next generation of men’s tennis.
What only Sinner, his team and the anti-doping authorities knew then, however, was that until the day of his first training session in Madrid, he had been banned from entering the tournament grounds or any other official grounds or courts because of the automatic provisional suspension he had received in the aftermath of him twice testing positive for the banned substance clostebol.
