Nick Kyrgios admits he has a “pretty grim” relationship with Jannik Sinner and added that he “can’t stand” the former world number 1 after a positive drug test.
Sinner twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in March last year, but he was allowed to continue playing and the news only became public in August when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing as he bore “no fault or negligence”.
The ITA accepted the player’s explanation that the substance entered his system after he was massaged by his physiotherapist, who had used a product that contained clostebol to treat an injury on his own hands.
With the Italian, who was No 1 at the time, not receiving a ban for the transgression, several big-name players – Kyrgios being one of them – in the tennis community expressed their outrage as they felt there were double standards.
But Sinner did eventually receive a suspension after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed against ITIA’s decision and in February 2025 they settled with the player’s lawyer, resulting a three-month ban.
But again Kyrgios expressed his outrage and in the latest The Unscripted Show podcast, saying: “I’m loved by a lot of the locker room and then there are people I can’t stand. Like obviously me and Jannik Sinner now, it’s pretty grim,” the former world No 13 said.
“Obviously, after the whole doping scandal with him testing positive and all that type of stuff, yeah there are a couple of people I don’t get along with at all…
“He’s the number one player in the world (when he tested positive) and there’s no doubt he’s an incredible player and he’s going to be carrying the sport for the next 10 to 15 years with (Carlos) Alcaraz.
“I mean obviously they’re protecting him to some degree. I mean the CEO and all of the important people in the ATP are all Italian. And like the whole story for me is bulls–t.”
Kyrgios felt it was a slap in the face of players who are clean, but he does have one or two positive things to say about Sinner, who has dominated men’s tennis along with Alcaraz the past two years.
