Newsletter | Roman Return for Sinner

Jannik Sinner is back after this three month ban and still holds the no.1 spot

By Stephen Higgins | 9th May 2025

Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros
Guess who’s back? Jannik Sinner returns to the tour this weekend in Rome | Crosscourt View

As we edge towards the middle of May, we are a few days into Rome and just over a fortnight from the start of Roland Garros. They aren't the only milestones worth noting as Jannik Sinner returns to professional action tomorrow after the end of his three month ban.

So what sort of tour is the world no.1 returning to? One of missed opportunities you'd have to say.

The Italian departed the scene in mid February with a cushion of over 3,000 points over Alexander Zverev.

While that lead has been halved, the German has actually dropped points after an underwhelming spring.

The 28-year-old captured the Munich crown last month, but early losses at Acapulco, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo curtailed any chance of pursuing the absent world no.1.

As for Carlos Alcaraz, he has disappointed over the same stretch but to a lesser degree.

The Spaniard did win Monte-Carlo and made the final of Barcelona. However, his surprising second round loss to David Goffin in Miami and Madrid absence through injury have cost the 22-year-old.

Here's how the rankings look this week for comparison.

Taylor Fritz remains in fourth place but kudos to Jack Draper who backed up his breakthrough win at Indian Wells with a brilliant run to the final of Madrid. The Brit is surging right now and I love his powerful, multi-faceted lefty game.

With byes in the first round, the ATP big guns take to the courts of the Foro Italico from today with Alcaraz versus Dusan Lajovic while Zverev plays Camilo Ugo Carabelli. It will be fascinating to see what level Sinner brings after his long absence. He starts against Mariano Navone over the weekend.

Turning to the women's side, it's all been about Aryna Sabalenka for months now. The Belarusian was not at her best in last weekend's Madrid final but still squeezed past Coco Gauff to earn her third title at the Caja Magica.

The 27-year-old, who already has three titles this season along with runner-up showings in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Stuttgart, has nearly twice the amount of ranking points as Iga Swiatek right now.

The Pole, who enjoyed an easy win in her Rome opener, has struggled to find top form when it matters for some time now. After opening the season so impressively at the United Cup, the 23-year-old has been consistently below par and suffered a heavy first defeat to Gauff in last week's semi-final.

While a four-time champion at Roland Garros, Swiatek could really do with some confidence on the Roman clay as she tries to regain her previous powers and aura.

We'll learn something about the Pole's mindset in her next match as she takes on the always feisty Danielle Collins. Beyond that, the defending champion will be wary of the presence of Jelena Ostapenko in her half. The Latvian has a commanding 6-0 head-to-head over Swiatek and has already beaten her twice in 2025.

In this section, I dig out an image from my vault of photos taken at various tournaments on tour.

Casper Ruud hitting forehand at Roland Garros

It you haven’t seen it yet, the Madrid final between Jack Draper and Casper Ruud (above) is well worth a watch. There were some thrilling exchanges over the three sets and it was super to see the Norwegian earn the biggest title of his career to date. Casper is at times a forgotten man given the understandable attention for Sinner and Alcaraz, but he is a phenomenal performer (on clay particularly) and his forehand is one of the game’s great ones. This shot is from Roland Garros last year when he took on Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina.