Jannik Sinner, Italy’s world number one, has been given a bye into the second round of the Italian Open, where he will face either fellow Italian teenager Federico Cina or Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
Sinner, a three-time Grand Slam champion, is making his return to competition this week after serving a three-month doping suspension. The ban, which stemmed from two positive tests for trace amounts of clostebol in March last year, was resolved through a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA acknowledged that Sinner did not gain any competitive advantage and was not at fault, as the contamination was deemed accidental.
The 23-year-old has been out of action since successfully defending his Australian Open title earlier this year.
In the draw, Sinner won’t meet rival Carlos Alcaraz unless both reach the final. A potential quarterfinal clash with world number seven and recent Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud could await him.
Alcaraz, currently ranked world number three, missed the Madrid Open due to injury and has not yet arrived in Rome. Should he recover in time, the Spaniard might face Britain’s Jack Draper—Ruud’s opponent in the Madrid final—in the quarterfinals.
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