CNN
 — 

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal exclusively told CNN Sports he completely trusts that world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is innocent, as the Italian prepares to return from a doping suspension.

Sinner is approaching the end of a three-month ban having twice tested positive for banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year.

The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4.

In a February statement, Sinner said that he has “always accepted that I am responsible for my team” but has always denied knowingly taking a banned substance.

“I don’t have a clear opinion, first of all, because I don’t have the whole information,” Nadal told CNN after being honored with the Sporting Icon Award at this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards.

“First of all, I 100% believe that Jannik is innocent. I don’t think at all that Jannik wanted to do something that is not allowed, so I 100% believe in Jannik.”

The saga around Sinner has shone the spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars.

Sinner, for example, won’t miss any grand slam events during his ban.

Recently, Serena Williams said she would have been banned for “20 years” and “gotten grand slams taken away” if the same thing had happened to her. She did, though, describe Sinner as a “fantastic personality” and “great for the sport.”

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said that the whole case was “not a good image for our sport.”

But Nadal, who retired from tennis last year following a historic career, said he has full trust in the current anti-doping system.

“From my point of view, I really don’t believe that Jannik, because he’s the No. 1 in the world, received different treatment than another person, from my perspective and from my understanding,” the 22-time grand slam singles champion said.

“I really believe in the process, I have been there going through all the tests for 20 years, how the things are strict on every single movement … and I believe in the process.

“I can’t say another thing and I can’t think another way because, if not, I will think that we are not in a fair world, and I really believe that we are in a fair world in this matter.”

Despite his ban, Sinner will be one of the favorites to win his first French Open title when the tournament starts at the end of May.

Nadal, who won a record 14 Coupes des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros, said he hopes a potential Sinner win won’t be tarnished by questions around his eligibility to play.

However, for Sinner to claim the title, he will first have to find a way past the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, who many have compared to Nadal.

Not only are both from Spain, but both are formidable on clay with Alcaraz winning his first French Open title last year.

Nadal, who retired with 22 grand slam singles trophies, said the comparisons are only natural and holds high hopes that the 21-year-old can reach the very top of the sport.

“All of us received the pressure from the media and from the hope that people have about you, but I think at the end, we are humans and we know how to handle that,” Nadal told CNN.

“I don’t think for Carlos it’s a big deal holding that pressure. He’s a great player and has a great family behind (him).

“I think he’s doing great and he’s having an amazing career and he’s going to win much more if he stays out of injury – that’s the most important thing. I wish and I really believe that he’s going to have one of the best careers of all time.”

Nadal said he occasionally messages Alcaraz but would always be on hand to provide some advice – not that he thinks the youngster needs it.

It’s an invitation that the 38-year-old extends to all players on the tour who might want to casually learn from his own experiences.

However, Nadal has so far resisted following the likes of Andy Murray, who has gone into coaching after retiring from a playing career.

“I mean in this life you can never say never,” he said, adding he was enjoying spending more time with family without all the travel that comes with being on tour.

“It’s difficult to imagine myself now doing this kind of thing … it’s not my moment, at all. I am in a different moment of my life and I don’t see myself traveling now with a player.”

Instead, Nadal is happy to continue developing his tennis academy which is starting to breed success across the game, adding to the Spaniard’s already impressive tennis legacy.

And, even in retirement, Nadal has not stopped picking up trophies. In addition to being given the aforementioned Laureus Sporting Icon Award, the Spaniard will also be honored in a ceremony at this year’s French Open.

“The results are the results, you know. I won what I won, I lost what I lost, that’s the results and nobody can change that,” Nadal said when asked what he wants to be remembered for now that his playing days are behind him.

“Of course, I will be remembered as a good tennis player, but for me, it’s important to be remembered as a good person, a player who fights as hard as possible but with positive values, being always fair and correct with everyone on court.

“Trying to respect every single moment, for me that’s the most important thing.”

CNN
 — 

Former tennis world No. 1 Andre Agassi’s pro pickleball debut at the US Open Pickleball Championships has come to an end, after he and partner Anna Leigh Waters fell in their second match to Len Yang and Trang Huynh-McClain.

Agassi – an eight-time grand slam singles champion on the tennis court – and Waters clinched a victory in their first match over Stevie Petropouleas and Tristan Dussault with a 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 win in the mixed pro division on Wednesday in Naples, Florida.

But the winning start, which marked the 55-year-old Agassi’s pro debut in the sport, was short-lived with the dynamic duo losing out in their next match to Yang and Huynh-McClain in three sets: 11-7, 4-11, 7-11.

Agassi had nothing but praise for Waters – the 18 year old No. 1-ranked player in the world – ahead of the tournament, saying: “She’s right up there with the greatest ever in what she does and the idea of challenging myself to not screw things up for her is daunting,” per Reuters.

Once relatively niche, pickleball – a mashup of tennis, table tennis and badminton that can be played indoors or outdoors, by single players or in pairs – now claims to be the United States’ fastest-growing sport.

An estimated 48.3 million adults played it at least once between 2022 and 2023, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP), which is nearly 19% of the total US population.

Agassi has been known to play the sport alongside his wife, 22-time grand slam singles title winner Steffi Graf.

“He’s so good,” she told CNN Sports earlier this year. “And he’s played a little more, he’s physically so much stronger and quicker (than me). His sense for this game, how quickly he picked it up, was absolutely phenomenal to watch.

“Not that I didn’t see it in the other sports that he’s so good at, but he picked it up and he loved the analysis of it, from the beginning on watching videos and other clips. When he goes out and plays with some of the professionals, he will have very specific questions that he needs answered to get better.”

Since discovering his love for pickleball, Agassi has become a vocal advocate of the sport. Promoting the game in India recently, he defended tennis as “the most difficult racket sport in the world” but lauded pickleball as a more accessible alternative.

“It’s going to grow like you can’t even imagine,” Agassi said, adding that he could “absolutely” see pickleball at the Olympics.

However, regardless of his aptitude for the sport, Agassi is unlikely to be pursuing full-time pro status anytime soon.

“If I had the luxury of bandwidth to focus all my energy on just playing and body recovery and all that stuff, that would be a joy. But I don’t. I’m in a different season now,” he said, per Reuters.

CNN
 — 

Tennis star Jannik Sinner revealed he considered walking away from the sport over his recent doping suspension.

The world No. 1 is approaching the end of a three-month ban having twice tested positive for banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year.

The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4.

In an interview with Italian state broadcaster RAI, Sinner was asked whether he thought about stepping away from tennis at any time during the ordeal, to which he said he had.

“I remember before the Australian Open this year, it wasn’t a very happy time,” the 23-year-old said. “I didn’t really feel comfortable in the locker room, where we were eating. Players were looking at me differently. I said to myself: ‘Maybe, I need to take some time off after Australia.’ I didn’t want (the ban) though.

“I had a tough time accepting these three months. Because I knew that I didn’t do anything wrong. So why do I have to pay this price? But then we discussed it with my lawyer and about what could have happened in the worst-case scenario and so we decided to accept it.”

The saga around Sinner has shone a spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars.

Sinner, for example, won’t miss any grand slam events during his ban. He also won the U.S.
Open and Australian Open while waiting for a verdict on his suspension.

Recently, Serena Williams said she would have been banned for “20 years” and “gotten grand slams taken away” if the same thing had happened to her. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said that the whole case was “not a good image for our sport.”

But as he prepares to return to action, the Italian says he’s focusing on his preparations before he steps back into competitive action.

“I don’t even want to answer. Everyone is free to say what they want, everyone can judge, but that’s okay,” Sinner said. “It’s important to me that I know how that happened, but above all also of what I went through and it was very difficult.

“I don’t wish it on anyone to really pass as innocent something like that because it wasn’t easy, but we are in a world where everyone can say what they want, so it’s okay.”