Sinner returns from doping ban to great fanfare at Italian Open

ROME (AP) — Rarely has an athlete been welcomed back from a doping ban with so much fanfare.

Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner was treated to a stadium filled with nearly 5,000 fans for his first practice session at the Italian Open on Monday — the day his three-month banishment from the sport expired.

The training session — which was shown live on local TV — came after Sinner was the most celebrated player in a ceremony to honor the Italian teams that swept the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup last year.

Both trophies were on hand and the Campo Centrale crowd belted out Italy’s national anthem.

It's the first time that Italy has had a No. 1 player for its home tournament. Still, Sinner was at a loss to explain why he attracts so much attention.

“I don’t know. Honestly, I think I’m a simple 23-year-old kid. I’m good at playing tennis but I’m not changing the world,” he said. “I always remember that I come from a small town of 2,000 people. Being here in Rome and playing in front of so many people is a big deal.”

With a conclave to elect a new pope set to begin just down the road at the Vatican on Wednesday, Sinner’s return prompted local headlines that declared “Habemus Sinner” — a variant of the Latin words “Habemus Papam!” that are announced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica when a pope is elected.

The scene at the Foro Italico came in sharp contrast to how Sinner felt back in February when he received a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“At the start I was a bit confused because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,” Sinner said. “Then I went home and stayed with my family. I tried to understand better what was really important to me.

“I know how many sacrifices I made and my daily routine was always practice, practice, practice. But at that moment I didn’t have any of that. I came to understand that what’s important to me are the people by your side. That they give you the strength to move forward and continue smiling.”

Besides his family in the German-speaking Alto Adige region of northern Italy, Sinner also spent more time with friends at home in Monaco, participated in other sports like cycling, and then only gradually came back to tennis.

“We went about a month without touching (a racket) and then we restarted really softly,” Sinner said. “When we started pushing more, blisters developed on my hands. That was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.”

The settlement was made after WADA appealed a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to fully exonerate Sinner for what it deemed to be an accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid in March 2024.

The settlement raised questions, since it conveniently allowed Sinner not to miss any Grand Slams and return at his home tournament.

The Italian Open is the last big clay-court event before the French Open, which starts on May 25.

“I didn’t want to do it in the beginning, and also it was a bit not easy for me to accept it, because I know what really happened,” Sinner said of the ban. “But sometimes we have to choose the best in a very bad moment, and that’s what we did. So it’s all over now. So I’m happy to play tennis again.”

Many fellow pros feel Sinner was treated too lightly.

Serena Williams told Time magazine she “would have gotten 20 years” if she was involved in a similar case: “Let’s be honest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.”

“I just arrived 45 minutes ago," Sinner said. "I haven’t seen so many (other players). It’s all fine at the moment, but I haven´t seen most of them.”

Sinner hasn’t played a match since January when he won his second straight Australian Open title.

After a first-round bye in Rome, he will be play his opening match on Saturday against No. 99 Mariano Navone or 18-year-old Italian wild card Federico Cinà.

The last Italian man to win the Rome title was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

“It’s a very, very low expectation tournament in general for me,” Sinner said. “It’s a very strange feeling again in the beginning to be around so many people and attention. But it’s nice to be back.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Jannik Sinner attends a training ahead of the Italian Open in Rome, Monday, May 5, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Jannik Sinner attends a training ahead of the Italian Open in Rome, Monday, May 5, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Jannik Sinner attends a training ahead of the Italian Open in Rome, Monday, May 5, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Jannik Sinner speaks during a press conference ahead of the Italian Open, in Rome, Monday May 5, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Jannik Sinner speaks during a press conference ahead of the Italian Open, in Rome, Monday May 5, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Jannik Sinner attends a press conference ahead of the Italian Open, in Rome, Monday May 5, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

FILE - Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts after losing a point during his match against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

FILE - Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, File)

FILE - Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning a point to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)