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Former Wimbledon finalist blasts 'ridiculous' ruling following Jannik Sinner steroid scandal
Jannik Sinner won't be suspended after the International Tennis Integrity Agency determined on Tuesday that, despite testing positive for an anabolic steroid twice in March, the substance entered the top-ranked player in the world's system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist.
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) August 20, 2024
Sinner will lose the $325,000 and 400 points that he earned at the March tournament in Indian Wells, but former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios blasted the ruling as "ridiculous" on social media on Tuesday.
Ridiculous - whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice https://t.co/13qR0F9nH2
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 20, 2024
The 23-year-old Sinner fell to eventual-champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on March 16.
Since a strong 2022 season including a U.S. Open quarterfinal berth and a spot in the Wimbledon finals, Kyrgios' last two years have been plagued by injuries.
He missed the 2023 Australian Open with a knee injury that required surgery and opted out of the French Open after suffering a foot injury during an armed robbery at his home. Kyrgios also missed the 2023 Wimbledon tournament after tearing a ligament in his wrist that caused him to sit out the rest of the year.
While recovering, the Australian began his broadcasting career on Tennis Channel and later on ESPN for the 2024 Australian Open. Kyrgios later worked as a commentator and analyst for 2024 Wimbledon, calling the men's singles final between Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and the women's singles championship between Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini.
After his first semifinal appearance at a Grand Slam in 2023 (Wimbledon), Sinner has had an even more eventful 2024.
The Italian earned his first major title at the Australian Open, defeating Daniil Medvedev after trailing by two sets. Sinner later made the French Open semifinals and arrived at the All-England Club as the top seed for the Wimbledon Championships.
Medvedev exacted revenge on Sinner in the July tournament, however, coming back to win a five-set thriller in the quarterfinals, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.
Sinner was reportedly "hampered by illness, with a doctor called to the court to check his blood pressure in the third set before a lengthy medical timeout" during the match against Medvedev. Weeks later, he announced that he wouldn't be competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris due to tonsillitis.
Sinner will next compete at the U.S. Open, which began on Monday.
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Veteran Center Rejected Knicks Offer
The New York Knicks imagine themselves as a championship contender, and those dreams looked like they may be rapidly approaching reality in last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They've spent much of this offseason patching holes in their roster, requiring significantly more firepower from their bench to scare their opponents with a well-rounded rotation that they lacked in 2024-25. They're not looking to burst at the seams with reserve bucket-getters, but have done plenty to consolidate their backup guards and bigs with a summer of moves that's still continuing. Though their most recent on-court developments have provided the Knicks' hopes with real wind behind their sails, those wishes to bolster the frontcourt aren't new. New York reportedly tried to woo a veteran center in Daniel Theis over to last season's situation, but failed to seal the deal. Theis, now playing for AS Monaco, could have joined the Knicks mid-season last year before opting for a European return, according to BasketNews.com. He spent the first leg of the 2024-25 campaign with the New Orleans Pelicans, the sixth team that the 33-year-old's suited up for in the last five seasons. New York's offer gave Theis yet another chance to fill in as a role-playing big on another contender, but he chose to bet on himself. "I could have gone to the Knicks, for example, but it was more for insurance that Mitchell Robinson came back from a long injury," Theis said on a recent Euro Insiders podcast. "And then I talked to Tom Thibodeau and he said, 'Yeah, you will be like insurance in case he can't play and this and that.' It's like what I did with P.J. Tucker. "For me, it was like, 'Okay, if I sit for the rest of the year, what are my chances in the summer?' So if I’m like, 'Okay, I go overseas to Europe and play great, I might have a better chance.' That was my whole intention and thought behind it — just consider Europe and see what it is." Robinson did indeed manage to remain healthy when it counted, seeing the floor in all 18 Knicks playoff games after playing in just 17 during the regular season. His reliability as a defender and rebounder up front would have negated Theis' presence, as he would have spent all but a few garbage time minutes occupying the same seat on the bench that Tucker took in the postseason. Though he would've likely been constrained to a minimum contract that would've expired at season's end alongside other role playing veterans like Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa, he'd have been a little more playable than some other deep-cut Knicks as a rim-rolling center, and that's the sort of job that New York's looked to fill in the months since. Theis chose his path, and the Knicks stayed young in building a roster that's expected to blow every other 21st century Knicks team out of the water.
Country Star Spencer Hatcher Postpones Shows After Mother's Fatal Home Attack
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Najee Harris may have role reduced after fireworks accident
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Brewers' Quinn Priester tells the truth after escaping loss in comeback vs. Mets
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