Casper Ruud is definitely on Team Jannik Sinner in the ongoing debate around the world No. 1’s current ban from tennis. Sinner has been suspended for three months–running from February 8 through May 5–for a positive Clostebol test dating back to the 2024 Indian Wells Masters.
Ruud was asked about his stance on the issue by Ben Rothenberg at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Monday.
“I feel sorry for Jannik,” Ruud answered. “He has, in my view, not done anything intentionally.
“When you look at the [legal system], it’s not unusual that it happens when someone is about to go to trial. I mean, there’s many other cases where settlements happened just before a trial. So, my understanding, if I was in Jannik’s shoes, of course I would loved to have the possibility to defend myself in an open trial, which I’m sure he was going for. But when you go trial, there is…always a risk that you might be found guilty–even if you aren’t guilty–if the juries or the judges see things in a different way. I mean, look at how many cases in the world someone has gone to jail when he wasn’t guilty, or she wasn’t guilty. So there’s always a risk that you might be found guilty even though you aren’t.
“So a settlement of three months–or a suspension of three months–was something that both were happy to do. Still, I feel sorry for Jannik. He will miss four out of nine Masters 1000s for something he didn’t intentionally do.
“So I hope he keeps his head high. Me personally, I’m always rooting for him. I think it’s a joy to watch him play, and I hope the three months go by quickly for him. Yeah, it’s just sad for him, and tennis as a sport, when the world No. 1 goes through something like this. And, yeah, I guess that’s kind of my thought about it at the moment.”
Sinner will be eligible to return in front of the home crowd at the Rome Masters prior to the French Open, which begins later in May. The Italian will miss Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid.
thoughts?
what a contrast to bitter Novak.
and some others