Usually results and performances takes up most of the focus of the Base Line but not this week as Jannik Sinner’s much discussed doping case once again stole all the headlines.
The 23-year old Italian had previously been cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol in March.
But on 15 February Sinner accepted an immediate three-month ban from tennis after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency over his two positive drugs tests last year.
Sinner, who won the Australian Open last month, will be suspended from 9 February until 4 May and this means that he will be eligible to play at the French Open - the next Grand Slam of the year - which starts on 19 May.
Its certainly unusual that athletes are now allowed to negotiate a potential ban after testing positive. But after WADA had initially asked for a two-year ban they accepted a three-month suspension as Sinner "did not intend to cheat", that the drug "did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit" and this happened "without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage".
"Sad day for tennis"
It did not take long for reactions to pour in in the wake of the ban and most of them certainly did not applaud WADA for their decision.
“Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a three-month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist”, said Nick Kyrgios in his usual undiplomatic way.
The former British No 1 Tim Henman also criticized the ban as “too convenient” and warned it would leave fans of the sport with a “pretty sour taste”. “It just seems a little bit too convenient. When you’re dealing with drugs in sport it very much has to be black and white. When you start reading words like settlement or agreement, it feels like there’s been a negotiation and I don’t think that will sit well with the player cohort and the fans of the sport.”
However, Daniil Medvedev said he hoped Jannik Sinner's doping ban would "create a precedent" so other players can reach similar settlements with anti-doping authorities in the future. "I hope that it will create a precedent where everyone will have the opportunity to defend themselves better than before”, said the Russian.
Winners of the week
Enough of the Sinner case as there was actually plenty of real tennis to report on in the past week where the Women´s WTA-1000 event in Doha totally turned rankings upside down as four of the top eight seeds - Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Zheng Qinwen, and Emma Navarro were all gone by the time we had reached the 1/8-finals. The only Top 10 player who made the semifinals, Iga Swiatek, was taught a general tennis lesson by Jelena Ostapenko.
Amanda Anisimova was the big winner of the week as she soared into the Top 20 ranking after rising from No. 41 to No. 18 following her triumph in Doha where she beat current or former Top 20 players in all six rounds - Victoria Azarenka, Paula Badosa, Leylah Fernandez, Marta Kostyuk, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jelena Ostapenko.
On the Mens´s side Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic restored a bit of morale after losing the deciding rubber against Elmer Moller in the Davis Cup match against Denmark two weeks ago. Medjedovic rose from No. 96 to a new high of No. 73 after he managed to reach his second ATP final of his career in Marseille where he beat Daniil Medvedev along the way for his first win over a Top 10 player in his career.
In Buenos Aires Brazilian youngster Joao Fonseca made history as he became the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP title in the Open Era at the age of 18. At the same time he became the fourth-youngest player from anywhere to win an ATP title this century after Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. The first ATP-title of his career allowed him to jump from No. 99 to a new personal best of No. 68.
Rallies of the week
Joao Fonseca kept his cool under pressure when he down match point against Argentina's Mariano Navone ripped a backhand down the line to stay in the match.
Jelena Ostapenko was in scintillating form in Qatar making Iga Swiatek look like a fairly ordinary player
Upcoming events:
The hype around Joao Fonseca will undoubtedly reach new hights as he has the luxury of taking part in his next tournament in familiar surroundings in Rio de Janeiro on the back of his impressive triumph in Buenos Aires.
The Qatar ExxonMobil Open, one of two ATP Tour events held in the Middle East, will in 2025 be held as an ATP 500 for the first time. Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur are the top seeds in the tournament.
10 of the WTA’s Top 12 are in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships which was introduced as a women’s singles and doubles tournaments in 2001 and has since become a premier WTA 1000 event in the early goings of the WTA season.
Check out the full schedule for tournaments in Doha, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai.
