Jannik Sinner’s tennis suspension is nearly over as he prepares to return to action at the Italian Open next month.
The world number one won the Australian Open in January, taking down Alexander Zverev in the final, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
Sinner was then handed a three-month ban from competitive action, which has already seen the Italian miss two Masters 1000 tournaments.
Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images
The 23-year-old will also miss this week’s Monte-Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open later this month before he returns for his home Italian Open in May.
Ahead of his return, one ATP Tour legend has revealed what he would’ve done in Sinner’s position over the last three months.
Andy Roddick claims Andy Murray would’ve been the perfect training partner for Jannik Sinner recently
Speaking on his podcast, former world number one Andy Roddick named the player he thinks would’ve been perfect for Sinner to train with while banned from tennis.
“Weirdly, if I was Sinner, the perfect person to maybe have brought in for two weeks at a time or four weeks at a time during this suspension, someone who can still play at a top 50 or 60 level, would have been someone like Andy Murray,” he said.
“Fresh off tour, can hit a big ball, can play extended points.
“I have got to think that as soon as this comes down, my mind would have automatically gone – and we don’t know what he is doing, it is very private – but I would have gone instantly to go and find people who were borderline top 100 who had retired in the last six months.
“That is who I would have tried to train with, someone who was just off tour.”
Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images
Murray has been training with one of Sinner’s biggest rivals, Novak Djokovic, in 2025, having joined his coaching team ahead of this year’s Australian Open.
Roddick recalled his experiences training with lower-ranked players during his time on tour.
“There was not a ton of pro players when I was playing so you would have to fly people in just to hit a similar ball,” he said.
“I would practice with some people who were top 200, but I use the term they were top 200, but maybe they were not top 50 because they didn’t move well.
Photo by Cynthia Lum/Getty Images
“I was obsessed with hitting that heavy ball, you cannot replace that.
“Someone that hits the ball like they are top 50 but maybe have the yips on the serve.
“I wanted that pace of shot.”
Did Jannik Sinner ever play Andy Murray on the ATP Tour?
Twice, Sinner and Murray faced off during their professional careers, in Stockholm (2021) and in Dubai (2022).
The head-to-head finished at 1-1, with the Italian winning the last of their two career meetings.
- 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships 2R – Jannik Sinner beat Andy Murray, 7-5, 6-2
- 2021 Stockholm Open 2R – Andy Murray beat Jannik Sinner, 7-6, 6-3
With a place in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships up for grabs, Sinner battled past Murray in straight sets three years ago.
Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images
The result saw Sinner exact revenge on the Brit, whom had beaten him in the Swedish capital in 2021.
Murray, who had beaten just two top-ten players in the previous four years, produced a stunning performance to advance past the youngster, 7-6, 6-3.
The pair were denied a third career meeting when Murray withdrew ahead of their clash at the Canadian Open in 2023.
Sinner is also level in the head-to-head with the player Murray now works alongside, having won four of his eight matches against Djokovic.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s head-to-head record
Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images
Only time will tell who will win the head-to-head between two of the best players in men’s tennis.
Perhaps the pair will next face off when Sinner returns to action at the Italian Open, which begins on May 7.