"There are a lot of questions": Azarenka whips out again ahead of Sinner's return to the court

The day has finally arrived for Jannik Sinner . The Italian tennis player, after serving a three-month doping ban , returns to the courts this Friday, on his home court, at the Rome Masters 1000. The world number one's goal is to regain his form so he can be in top form for Roland Garros, but he knows the problems could go beyond the courts. In fact, many players still don't understand the way he's been treated .

Since Sinner's positive test was announced, many players have spoken out against the way his case has been handled . From the silence in the first months after the situation became known to the way he was even punished, very different from what has happened to other tennis players. Many believe that being the number one in the ATP, Added to the reputational blow that this would represent for tennis , it has served to minimize the noise surrounding the Italian.

In fact, the latest player to express her disagreement with the Sinner case is Victoria Azarenka . The Belarusian tennis player is no ordinary player; she's one of the most authoritative voices in world tennis : a former world number one, a Grand Slam winner with 21 titles under her belt, a career tied to sports, and a member of the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) players' committee. Her words have therefore resonated even more.

For Vika , what happened to Sinner is not easily explained. She considers him a great, personable person, but at the same time, she feels that the case has not been as transparent as it should have been . Even worse, she believes the rules have been applied differently to him than to other players who have also tested positive, which adds a further layer of secrecy to a truly controversial case.

“Personally, I really like Jannik. He’s a great guy . He’s always been very kind to me. He seems like a pretty humble person. I don’t know him very well, but I find it hard to be too critical on a personal level. However, on a professional level, I think there are discrepancies, as not all players are treated equally . It’s not just his case. There are a lot of questions about how the investigations were carried out ,” Azarenka said in an interview with Tennis.com .

For the Belarusian, one of the problems with the lack of transparency in these doping cases has to do with the lack of implementation of some of the rules they are demanding, in part because the ITIA cannot make certain decisions . This is because the regulatory framework is managed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. If it wanted to have independence in tennis, the ITIA would have to leave WADA, but that would have consequences: they would have to leave the Olympic system .

"If you talk about the Sinner case, people wonder why no one knew about it . Well, there's a legal aspect to it, I understand, but it's a bit on the edge. We often get asked our opinions on the system, but what I think doesn't really matter. It's more about how the rules are being used : Are they applied the same way? Are there any tweaks that need to be made? I think that's the conversation we should be having," says Azarenka, who is very critical of what surrounds the case .

The lack of clarity and doubt shown by some players regarding the Sinner case have led to many dissenting voices . In fact, not long ago Sinner spoke out on the matter, hurt by some of the statements made by some players . Just now, before his debut, one of the most important voices in world tennis has spoken out about the case again. He will return to the court this Friday, but the Italian's case will continue to loom large .