ROME (AP) — Jannik Sinner was just as surprised by which fellow players sent him messages of support at the start of his three-month doping ban as those who sent nothing.
The top-ranked player is returning to tennis at the Italian Open this week after his settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency raised questions, since it conveniently allowed Sinner not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.
“At the start of the suspension I received some surprising messages from some players, whereas there were others who I would have expected to hear from that didn’t send anything,” Sinner said. “But I’m not going to name names.”
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.
Many fellow pros feel Sinner was treated too lightly and Sinner recently discussed how he didn’t really feel comfortable in the locker room and the players' lounge during his run to a second straight Australian Open title in January, noting that “players were looking at me differently.”
Coach Simone Vagnozzi said that he and Darren Cahill, Sinner’s other coach, also sensed the glares.
“When something like that happens I think it’s almost inevitable to have everyone looking at you. But there have also been some nice things said,” Vagnozzi said, highlighting comments he appreciated from Holger Rune’s mom, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev.
In the final month of his ban, Sinner practiced with Jack Draper, Lorenzo Sonego and Rune at his training base in Monaco.
At the start of his suspension, Sinner was banned from entering any sanctioned sports event.
“I wanted to support my friends in cycling or motorsport,” Sinner said. “I couldn’t go there. That for me was the toughest part.”
In March, professional cyclist Giulio Ciccone posted a photo on Instagram of himself posing during a bike outing with Sinner and Ferrari endurance drivers Alberto Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Cahill has announced he will retire at the end of the year and Vagnozzi was asked if he would consider then coaching Sinner on his own.
“I would be able to do it on my own," Vagnozzi said. "But with players of this level it’s important to have another viewpoint. And it’s important to sometimes split up the weeks you spend with the player. Otherwise it’s a 365-day/year job and that’s a bit much.
“But I’m hoping that Darren stays on for another five years, because we have such a great relationship. He might be the best coach ever in terms of results and other factors.”
Vagnozzi referred to how Sinner is the fourth player the Australian has coached to No. 1 after Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep. “But most of all, he’s a special person.”
Sinner will play his opening match on Saturday against No. 99 Mariano Navone, who beat 18-year-old Italian wild card Federico Cinà 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday. Sinner enters on a 21-match winning streak but hasn’t played an official match since January.
Also, the red clay at the Foro Italico is not Sinner’s best surface. Only one of his 19 career titles has come on the dirt, in Umag, Croatia, in 2022.
“It’s definitely the surface where he is the least sure of himself,” Vagnozzi said. “But last year he had a good clay season, reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and the French Open and the quarterfinals in Madrid. … So I think he can do well here, too.”
The last Italian man to win the Rome title was Adriano Panatta in 1976.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Italy's Jannik Sinner hits the ball during the training session with Lorenzo Sonego at the Italian Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Rome. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a backhand during a training session with Italy's Lorenzo Sonego at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, May 6, 2025 (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner practices during a training session with Lorenzo Sonego at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, May 6, 2025 (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)
BERLIN (AP) — Martin Terrier scored a contender for goal of the season as Bayer Leverkusen defeated local rival Cologne 2-0 in their 73rd Bundesliga derby on Saturday.
Arthur’s cross from the right was behind Terrier, but the French forward dropped down and looped the ball in over Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe with the back of his heel to break the deadlock in the 66th minute.
Robert Andrich headed in from Aleix Garcia’s corner six minutes later to seal the win.
Leverkusen was without key players Patrik Schick and Álex Grimaldo but still boasted enough talent to create the greater chances against the visitors, who had injury-enforced absences of their own.
The win kept Leverkusen in fourth place, the last for Champions League qualification.
Ritsu Doan scored for Eintracht Frankfurt to end its four-game winless run across all competitions with a 1-0 win over Augsburg.
The Japan forward took the ball past two Augsburg defenders and unleashed his shot before he was closed down by two more. The deflection from a retreating defender took the ball beyond Finn Dahmen in the Augsburg goal in the 68th minute, setting off relief-tinged celebrations around the stadium.
Noahkai Banks briefly spoiled the mood when he equalized late, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check. It was the second goal that was ruled out for offside for the visitors in the game.
Frankfurt lost narrowly at Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, after it was routed 6-0 at home by Leipzig in its previous game.
“The lads tried with all they had left in the tank,” Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller said of his team's busy schedule. “They were lacking that bit of freshness. It's been a grueling six months.”
St. Pauli overcame a harsh sending off to end its 10-game winless run with a 2-1 victory over relegation rival Heidenheim.
Pauli had Eric Smith sent off before the break when referee Sören Storks penalized him for a foul on Marvin Pieringer as the last defender, though TV replays showed the Heidenheim forward made the most of light contact and threw himself to the ground. There was no VAR intervention.
Martijn Kaars had already put Pauli ahead, and he stunned the visitors by scoring the second against the run of play early the second half.
Pieringer pulled one back later, but Pauli held on for its third league win of the season.
Wolfsburg’s revival under interim coach Daniel Bauer continued with a 3-1 win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. It stretched the team’s unbeaten run to three games.
Hoffenheim defeated promoted Hamburger SV 4-1 for its fourth straight home win.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Leverkusen's Martim Terrier celebrates after he scored the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1.FC Cologne in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Leverkusen's Martim Terrier celebrates after he scored the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1.FC Cologne in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
St. Pauli's Martijn Kaars celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and 1. FC Heidenheim in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Marcus Brandt/dpa via AP)
Frankfurt's head coach Dino Toppmoeller, left, gives instructions during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Augsburg in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Marc Schueler/dpa via AP)
Frankfurt's Rasmus Kristensen celebrates at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Augsburg in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Marc Schueler/dpa via AP)
Frankfurt's Ritsu Doan, left, and Augsburg's Han-Noah Massengo, right, challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Augsburg in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Marc Schueler/dpa via AP)
Frankfurt's Ritsu Doan celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Augsburg in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Marc Schueler/dpa via AP)
