Jannik Sinner vs Mariano Navone LIVE: World No 1 wins on return from doping ban at Italian Open

Sinner played his first match since winning the Australian Open in January

Jannik Sinner feels fortunate not to have missed Grand Slams during his doping ban

World No 1 Jannik Sinner came back with a bang as he dispatched Mariano Navone in straight sets on his return to action from suspension at the Italian Open.

Sinner was met by a partisan capacity-crowd in Rome, having not competed since winning the Australian Open in January due to a three-month doping ban.

There weren’t too many signs of rust and it didn’t take long for Sinner to break his Argentine opponent on the way to a 6-3 first-set win.

Navone showed signs of fighting back in the second, with the pair trading three consecutive breaks before Sinner served out the set to claim a 6-3 6-4 victory - taking his win streak to 22, dating to October.

Relive all the action from Sinner’s return below:

Jannik Sinner vs Mariano Navone LIVE

• Jannik Sinner wins on his return to action following a three-month doping ban at the Italian Open
• Sinner hadn't competed since winning the Australian Open in January
• SET! Sinner picks up where he left off to secure the first set 6-3
• GAME, SET & MATCH! Sinner breaks twice in the second to beat Navone 6-3 6-4

[10 May 2025 16:30 · Will Castle]

‘Genuine’ Jannik Sinner ‘doesn’t deserve any hate’, says Jack Draper

Jack Draper publicly backed Jannik Sinner as the Italian prepares to make his return from a three-month doping suspension, saying he “doesn’t deserve any hate”.

“I think Jannik is a really, really genuine, nice person,” Draper, a personal friend of Sinner’s, told The Guardian and BBC Sport ahead of his own return to action at the Madrid Open last month.

“And on top of that, he’s obviously an unbelievable player. In this situation, I’m sure that he would have absolutely zero idea of anything. That’s just the way life goes – sometimes there’s mistakes.

“In terms of actually how I feel about him as a person, I think it’s important for people to know and recognise that the guy’s very, very kind-hearted and a good human being. So he doesn’t deserve any of the hate that he gets.”

[10 May 2025 16:15 · Will Castle]

Serena Williams' surprise over Jannik Sinner’s ban: ‘I would have got 20 years’

Serena Williams expressed surprise over the length of Jannik Sinner’s ban from tennis, joking that she would have been stripped of her grand slam titles had she failed a drugs test.

“I love the guy, I love this game. He’s great for the sport,” the 23-time grand slam champion said to Time magazine in praise of Sinner.

“I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him. [But] if I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let's be honest. I would have gotten grand slams taken away from me.”

[10 May 2025 16:00 · Will Castle]

Jannik Sinner considered quitting tennis before accepting doping ban

Jannik Sinner revealed he considered quitting tennis before accepting a three-month doping ban.

The Italian was asked in an interview with state broadcaster RAI whether he considered giving up tennis and replied: “Yes, yes.

“I remember before the Australian Open this year, I was not in a very happy moment because there was still that case of doping.

“I didn't feel comfortable and then I said, maybe after Australia, a little bit of free time, in the sense where I take a little break it will do me good.”

[10 May 2025 15:40 · Will Castle]

How are the Brits faring at the Italian Open?

Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper coasted into Italian Open third round yesterday, with both storming to straight-sets victories over Jil Teichmann and Luciano Darderi respectively.

There was no such luck for Cameron Norrie, however, who had no answers for 10th seed Daniil Medvedev as he was knocked out in the second round.

Jacob Fearnley, meanwhile, was knocked out by home favourite Matteo Berrettini this morning.

[10 May 2025 15:20 · Will Castle]

Jannik Sinner received ‘surprising messages’ from fellow players during doping ban

Jannik Sinner revealed he received some “surprising messages” from fellow players during his three-month doping ban, with the World No 1 also admitting he was surprised by the players who did not reach out.

“At the start of the suspension I received some surprising messages from some players,” Sinner said ahead of his return at the Italian Open.

“Whereas there were others who I would have expected to hear from that didn't send anything. But I'm not going to name names."

[10 May 2025 15:00 · Will Castle]

Why was Jannik Sinner banned?

Jannik Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open in January for his third grand slam title after the Italian reached a resolution agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

WADA were initially pushing for a ban of between one and two years at the Court of Arbitration for Sport after he twice tested positive for a banned substance in March last year. However, Sinner reached a settlement of three months, with a senior WADA figure insisting the World No 1’s case was a “million miles away from doping”.

While Sinner admitted “partial responsibility” for the mistakes made by his team that led to him twice positive for traces of clostebol, WADA withdrew its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that asked for a ban of up to two years following the initial decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend him.

[10 May 2025 14:40 · Will Castle]

Jannik Sinner's projected Italian Open draw

Jannik Sinner is on a 21-match winning run, with his last defeat coming to Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final last season.

Should Sinner progress past Navone, he could potentially face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round and Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in round four. Cerundolo defeated Sinner at the Italian Open in 2023.

His projected quarter-final opponent is Madrid Open champion and two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud while Sinner is in a different half of the draw to Alcaraz, who is seeded third, behind World No 2 Alexander Zverev.

Francisco Cerundolo defeated Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open in 2023 (Getty Images)

[10 May 2025 14:20 · Will Castle]

When will Jannik Sinner play his first match back?

The Italian Open has confirmed that Jannik Sinner will play his first match of the tournament on Saturday May 10, taking to the court at around 7pm local time (6pm UK time) on Centre Court.

Jannik Sinner will take to the court around 6pm UK time (REUTERS)

[10 May 2025 14:00 · Will Castle]

Jannik Sinner vs Mariano Navone LIVE

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Jannik Sinner’s return to action at the Italian Open.

The World No 1 has not played since winning the Australian Open in January after being hit with a three-month doping ban - but gets back on the court tonight in front of a home crowd in Rome.

After receiving Sinner a bye to the second round as top seed, he will be welcomed back by Argentine player Mariano Navone in his opening match of the tournament, who beat Sinner’s countryman Federico Cina in straight sets in the first round.

Stay tuned for all the build-up and action from Sinner’s tennis return.

Jannik Sinner has not competed since winning the Australian Open (Getty)