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Jannik Sinner has officially returned to the court after serving a three-month suspension resulting from a positive drug test. He’s also officially single.
The top-ranked men’s singles tennis pro clarified his relationship status ahead of the Italian Open this week after an Italian publication shared photos of him spending time with Russian model Lara Leito last month.
The news seemingly confirmed Sinner’s split from fellow tennis pro Anna Kalinskaya.
“I’m very happy to be back here. It has been three very long months,” Sinner said during a press conference on Tuesday. “I was glad to share some great moments with my family, with my friends. We were practicing very hard, especially in the gym in the beginning, coming back to the court again.”
On top of sharing information about his training, Sinner got ahead of reporters to confirm that he is “single.”
“I saw there is a lot of attention also kind of off the court, and I was also very surprised to see some pictures which, nothing serious, let’s say like this: I’m not in a relationship, so for whoever is asking, it’s all good.”
Sinner and Kalinskaya were linked last year, which he confirmed at the French Open in May 2024, the New York Post reported. The couple shared a kiss a few months later after he won the U.S. Open in September.
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But the paparazzi snaps and Sinner’s comments this week have confirmed their split.
Back on the court, Sinner expressed joy at returning to tennis after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended him as a result of testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid twice more than a year ago.
“I didn’t want to do it in the beginning, and also it was a bit not easy for me to accept it, because I know what really happened,” Sinner said. “But sometimes we have to choose the best in a very bad moment, and that’s what we did. So it’s all over now. So I’m happy to play tennis again.”
Sinner, 23, tested positive for low levels of metabolite of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use, in March 2024. Eight days after the Indian Wells tournament, Sinner tested positive again in an out-of-competition sample.
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s initial findings, Sinner explained that he tested positive after receiving a massage from a trainer who had used an over-the-counter spray that contained clostebol to treat a small wound after cutting his own finger.
While WADA accepted the no-fault explanation, the organization said the three-month suspension was necessary as “an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence.”
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