Alcaraz weighs in on the 'Sinner case': "There is something behind this that many people do not know, myself included"
The Spaniard expressed himself more clearly about the Italian's positive doping test and showed some doubt about the reasons why Jannik could continue playing tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz advances smoothly in a US Open 2024 marked by various narratives and stories that often precede the tournament. Just days before the start of the last Grand Slam of the year, the news of doping positive of Jannik Sinner shook the foundations of tennis. However, the Italian was able to continue playing and has not faced any sanctions as the tribunal accepted his defense based on contamination by members of his team... so, both the Italian and the Spaniard compete in Flushing Meadows and have already reached the second round.
Some might think this issue is in the past, that all the debate focuses on tennis... but it was not at all the case, at least in the tournament's lead-up: the journalists' questions to the players mostly included their opinion on the Italian's positive test. Some took clear stances, others less so; some defended the Italian's figure, while others viewed the case from a greater distance. In Carlos's case, beyond expressing himself in English that he has not yet perfected, we were unaware of his stance on the events when speaking in Spanish... until now.
And his statements are quite curious, clearly seeking neutrality and distancing himself from being a judge in an issue in which he has no say, but hinting that behind the whole process and the months during which Sinner has been able to continue competing... there are factors that we do not fully know. Is it possible to specify? Probably not, as he himself acknowledges his lack of knowledge about everything that has happened behind the scenes, yet his words are still worth pondering.
Alcaraz on Sinner (Spanish)
— TennisONE App (@TennisONEApp) August 28, 2024
“It’s a very sensitive & serious issue. There’s a lot of info a lot of ppl don’t know & I include myself cuz idk. He tested positive but there have been reasons we don’t know that allowed him to play. At the end, they consider him innocent.”
🎥: USTA pic.twitter.com/f1ZIcdF2ku
"THERE IS SOMETHING BEHIND ALL THIS THAT MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW"
"It's a very delicate issue, it's a very serious issue. I believe that... there is something behind all this that many people do not know, surely. Even I, I don't know, so it's very difficult to talk about this. In the end, he tested positive, but there must be some reason why they allowed him to continue playing that we are unaware of. So, I can't say much more on the topic. At the end of it all, he has been considered innocent, they have declared him innocent, so we have Jannik in the tournament and I don't think there is much more to say, I don't have much more to say on the subject."
Does he imply anything more, reading between the lines, about Sinner's positive test? There has always been a great relationship between the Murcian and the world number one, with constant jokes and winks that still continue to this day. If we delve further, many fans have always claimed on social media that it was Carlos who praised the Italian more, not vice versa, with a somewhat more neutral stance from Sinner (although these are probably conclusions based on the totally opposite personalities of each). However, Carlos's words are already circulating... and everyone interprets them as they wish. How would you interpret them?
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz se moja sobre el "caso Sinner": "Hay algo detrás de esto que mucha gente no sabe, incluido yo"