"That's very strange" - Bjorn Borg delivers bold 'surprising' verdict on Jannik Sinner's doping controversy

Bjorn Borg recently delivered his bold verdict on Jannik Sinner's doping controversy. Sharing his thoughts about the matter, the Swedish player labelled the entire issue ‘very strange’ and ‘surprising’.

Sinner first tested positive for clostebol, a banned substance, in March 2024, in two separate urine tests. While the Italian was provisionally suspended, news of his failed test was made public only in August. While the International Tennis Integrity Agency acquitted the 23-year-old, the World Anti-Doping Agency then took up the case, with the tennis star serving a 90 day suspension at the end of it all, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that he bore no significant fault.

Recently, in a conversation with BBC Breakfast, Bjorn Borg shared his thougts about Sinner’s doping controversy, saying,

“I think I was very surprised when I read that. I think it happened twice. I mean if it happened one time, but it happened twice, I think. So, I think that’s very strange. What happened, I don’t really know. I hope really nothing serious happened.”

Borg went on to reflect on the doping issues that plagued tennis during his own career, adding,

“When we played, my generation, I know for a fact, I know some players, they were using things they were not supposed to use. I don’t want to get into names, it’s not important. But today, I think it’s good, they test themselves, and sometimes I understand players have to test themselves so many times. I think it’s good, it’s important to keep tennis a clean sport.”

For his part, Jannik Sinner explained that his positive results were due to his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, who used a spray that contained clostebol for a cut on his finger, before massaging the tennis star without gloves and subsequently exposing him to the substance.

Jannik Sinner scheduled to return to action at the China Open

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

Jannik Sinner has led a busy hard court season so far. After claiming his maiden grass court Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships, the Italian returned to action at the Cincinnati Masters. In Ohio, he made it all the way to the finals before withdrawing midway through his summit clash against Carlos Alcaraz due to sickness. Up next, Sinner competed at the US Open, making it to the finals once again only to fall short to Alcaraz.

Since the US Open, Sinner has been enjoying some time away from tennis. The Italian is now schedule to return to the courts at the China Open, an ATP 500 event that is scheduled to take place between September 25 and October 1.

Edited by Riddhi Acharya