Novak Djokovic could benefit from Jannik Sinner’s failed drugs tests
Novak Djokovic has spent a record 428 weeks at No 1 in the ATP Rankings and he could be “gifted” an additional week following Jannik Sinner’s positive drug tests.
The tennis world was stunned this week when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Sinner tested positive for a banned substance during the Indian Wells Open in March.
The Italian returned a positive sample for an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol with the substance administered by his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi.
Sinner first failed a test on March 10 and eight days later his second sample also tested positive. He was provisionally suspended after each positive test, but he successfully appealed on both occasions and was allowed to continue playing.
Despite being cleared, the ITIA statement added: “Sinner’s results, prize money and ranking points from the ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, where the player tested positive in competition for clostebol, are disqualified.”
Sinner earned 400 points for reaching the semi-final at Indian Wells and those points were deducted from his tally on the official ATP Rankings on Tuesday, August 20.
However, in most cases the points are subtracted retroactively so Sinner would lose those points in March and, if that is the case, it will have an impact on the ATP Rankings.
Sinner first climbed to No 2 in the rankings – above Carlos Alcaraz and below Djokovic – after picking up 400 points at Indian Wells. If those points are deducted retroactively then he would drop below Alcaraz and he would remain there until the middle of April.
Sinner then reached No 1 in the ATP Rankings for the first time after the French Open and he had a big enough lead over Alcaraz to remain there even with a retroactive points deduction.
But the big sticking point in terms of the No 1 ranking came for the week of August 12 as Sinner dropped 800 points after he was unable to defend his Canadian Open trophy.
Had the retroactive points deduction taken place he would have been on 8 370 points and not 8,770. Djokovic, meanwhile, was on 8,460 points last week so he would have been No 1.
Instead, the ATP only reduced his tally by 400 points after his Cincinnati Open title run so he now sits on 9,360 points with Djokovic on 7,460 after the latter opted to skip the ATP Masters 1000 event.
The ATP is yet to respond to a question by Ben Rothenberg about the issue with the tennis journalist confirming on X: “I’ve asked ATP what will happen re: counting Sinner (and Djokovic’s) weeks at #1, a metric ATP promotes quite a bit.
“Because if Sinner’s 400 points from IW are retroactively subtracted, which would make sense, then Djokovic would’ve been #1 for one additional week (last week).”
The ATP could yet update their system and apply the points deduction retrospectively, giving Djokovic another week at No 1 which will take him to 429 weeks.
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Source: USA Today
