Jannik Sinner has enjoyed the campaign of his career thus far, winning two Grand Slam titles amongst numerous other titles too.
In doing so, he has risen to the apex of the sport, but such success has seemingly come at a cost.
After all, for all the adulation he has deservedly commanded, his ongoing drugs case remains an outstanding point of contention.
This dramatic saga, whilst it initially seemed set to conclude peacefully for the 23-year-old, has been brutally re-opened by WADA in recent weeks.
And, it could have dire consequences for his immediate future.
Andy Roddick makes worrying Jannik Sinner prediction
Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the man from whom the podcast is named was unsurprisingly vocal when speaking about this particular topic.
After all, it will send shockwaves throughout the entire sport if what he is threatening comes to fruition.
Roddick has already given his thoughts on WADA’s verdict in Sinner’s drugs case, but now the former world number one is actually predicting just how long the Italian might get as his punishment.
He claimed: ’I don’t know that we can choose when time served starts. We don’t know that if he skips Beijing that he automatically retroactively gets credit for that, because at that point he wouldn’t have played a day past the US Open. He’d hope that worst-case scenario he misses one slam.
‘If it comes down to the day after Christmas… he’s already got his training in for Australia so that’s locked in. He’s already spent three weeks of his life being a psychopath about fitness and everything else. That lands, if it’s three months, he misses one [Grand Slam]. If it’s six he misses two, if it’s nine months he misses three slams. That is a massive thing for someone who is currently in the prime, or at least building towards the last 5% of their prime.
‘Here’s what I think. I think knowing nothing about anything ever, if they’re saying a year it’s going to be like a six-month situation.’
Jannik Sinner’s ban would be terrible for tennis
Whilst many are calling for fairness and transparency across the board, and thus arguing that Jannik Sinner deserves to be banned, simply repeating the mistakes of the past would not fix anything.
Instead, his escaping a punishment should set a precedent going forward for all other cases, regardless of their profile or financial backing, to protect players from wrongful bans.
Were the world number one to see his career forced to a standstill, it would prove terrible for the sport.
Novak Djokovic has already criticised tennis’ governing bodies for their treatment of Sinner, echoing that same point.
It would make a mockery of the sport, and throw the men’s game in particular into disrepute. This case could have grave consequences for the sport.
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