Jannik Sinner has enjoyed a career best year on the ATP Tour, reaching world number one and winning two Grand Slam titles.
Sinner won the Australian Open earlier this year and added to his Grand Slam tally with the US Open in September.
He also added three Masters 1000 titles to his resume, with Sinner beating Novak Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters, the most recent success.
Sinner’s results on the ATP Tour in 2024 have seen him establish a comfortable lead as world number one, a ranking which he will hold going into the new year.
It hasn’t all gone smoothly for the 23-year-old however, as Sinner tested positive for a banned substance earlier this year after he was found with a minute amount of Clostebol in his system.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have recently appealed the decision not to ban Sinner, and are instead looking for the Italian to be suspended for at least 12 months.
Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has recently revealed that he and Sinner are both aware of what could happen if the appeal is upheld.
Darren Cahill understands Jannik Sinner could potentially be banned from tennis
Speaking to Corriere della Sera ahead of the ATP Finals, Cahill spoke about Sinner’s ongoing doping case.
“He has done nothing wrong,” he said.
“Of course WADA has appealed, we must wait for the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) ruling.
“It is a serious matter, let’s not joke about it.”
Cahill admitted that he and Sinner know what could happen if the verdict of the case goes against them.
“We know that disqualification is a possibility,” he said.
“Whatever happens, Jannik [Sinner] will face it with his usual maturity and composure. And we will do everything we can to protect him.
Sinner’s coach went on to further explain how the Italian is innocent.
“WADA itself said it, appealing: the substance found in Jannik’s urine has nothing to do with performance-altering doping,” said Cahill.
“The reconstruction of how he could have tested positive is not up for discussion: a mistake by a couple of former team members, without any responsibility on the player’s part.”
Is Jannik Sinner the favorite for the ATP Finals?
Whilst Sinner awaits the outcome of his doping case, he must switch his attention to the ATP Finals in Turin.
The Italian reached the final of his home tournament last year, losing out to Djokovic in straight sets.
He’ll be looking to go one better this time around, and as number one in the world, he may well be the favorite to do so.
Joined in his group by Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur, Sinner will be confident of advancing to the semi-finals.
Sinner has beaten Medvedev four times in 2024, his only defeat coming on the grass of Wimbledon, whilst the Italian beat De Minaur in their only encounter of the season in Rotterdam earlier this year.
Sinner beat Fritz to win the US Open this September, making the Italian a combined 6-1 against his group opponents this season.
The semi-finals could prove to be a tougher test for the 23-year-old however, as Sinner has a losing head-to-head against both Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, the two other big favorites to take home the trophy in Italy.
Whether Sinner can come out on top and win his first ATP Finals remains to be seen, but he is definitely one of the favorites to do so.
Sinner will begin his Turin campaign against De Minaur on Sunday.
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