"The CEO and all the important people are Italian" - Nick Kyrgios bluntly accuses ATP of 'protecting' Jannik Sinner during doping saga

Nick Kyrgios has recently accused the ATP of ‘protecting’ Jannik Sinner during his doping saga. The Australian alleged that the top management of the association consisted almost entirely of Italians and that they reserved preferential treatment for the former World No.1.

Sinner tested positive for clostebol, a banned substance, twice in March 2024. However, the failed tests weren't made public till August that year, leaving many concerned about the transparency of the process. The four-time Grand Slam champion was eventually ruled to have "no intent to cheat" and he served a three-month long ban before returning to his winning ways.

Recently, Nick Kyrgios accused the ATP of protecting Jannik Sinner during his doping scandal. Speaking in an appearance on the ‘UNSCRIPTED by Josh Mansour’ podcast, the Australian stated,

“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 Alcaraz. So 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.”

Despite the WADA stating that Jannik Sinner bore no significant fault for his positive tests, Kyrgios has repeatedly shown his dissatisfaction with the way the case was handled over the course of the past year.

Nick Kyrgios delivers verdict on Jannik Sinner’s future career

Sinner at the 2025 US Open (Image Source: Getty)

While Nick Kyrgios has often criticized Jannik Sinner for his failed dope tests, the Australian does accept that the former World No.1 is one of the most talented players the sport of tennis has seen in recent years.

During his time on the ‘UNSCRIPTED by Josh Mansour’ podcast, Kyrgios stated that Sinner would go down in history as one of the best tennis players of all-time, saying,

“When all is said and done, he’ll be one of the best players to ever play. I played against him and it was an incredibly close match and I was like ‘This kid’s going to be f***king unbelievable.’ So I was like I think you’re good enough to do it on your own merit.”

Nick Kyrgios and Jannik Sinner played each other in 2022 for their round of 16 encounter at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami. Sinner won this match 7-6(3), 6-3.

Edited by Riddhi Acharya