The record books will tell you this was the longest French Open final. They will show Carlos Alcaraz as the winner and Jannik Sinner the loser.
They won’t show those missed championship points from Sinner, and certainly won’t show the sport breathing a sigh of relief, with the outcome of this marvellous final further burying a footnote some would prefer to be forgotten entirely.
Any question as to whether this should have been the final was overshadowed by excitement that this was the final, this showdown between the two hybrids of the previous era’s greats.
It was the hottest ticket in town, with Dustin Hoffman, Antoine Dupont, Pharrell Williams, Natalie Portman and George Russell all joining tennis royalty and thousands of others inside Court Philippe-Chatrier. Someone pass the popcorn, or in Hoffman’s case, fries.
Dustin Hoffman had one of the best seats in the house (Photo: Getty)“It’s one of the biggest moments of our sport,” Andre Agassi said on TNT Sports, while presenter Rachel Stringer declared it the greatest final we’ve had in years, before a ball had even been tossed. By the end, five-and-a-half exhausting hours later, she was proved right.
The hype beforehand was understandable. From a broadcaster: natural. The pair had met 11 times but never in a grand slam final. Neither had previously lost a slam final either, meaning a zero had to go, while few pundits dared predict with any level of conviction.
We were going the distance. That was largely the belief, and it was enough time to cover plenty of subjects, but barely two minutes of the TV coverage were given to the three-month doping ban Sinner recently served.
He had a “few months out”, John McEnroe said beforehand, while Tim Henman praised the Italian’s mentality and ability to compartmentalise the “dark cloud” that formed from the “drug issues over his head”.
square TENNIS The problem with Jannik Sinner's three-month doping ban
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The longer discussion then came two hours and 45 minutes into the match, with Sinner two sets up but a break down in the third. “I’m never going to understand that [length of ban] fully,” Jim Courier said, once commentator Nick Mullins brought up the suspension and the fact it was only Sinner’s third tournament of the year.
“It might have been longer but it wasn’t,” Mullins noted, ending the topic with a “but anyway… here he is”.
At least it was referenced, but its passing nature outlined what was clear already. History will remember his triumphs, but time is quickly forgetting the ban. The dark cloud has basically passed.
Fair enough? Player gets ban, player serves ban, shouldn’t we all just move on? Why focus on the negatives when the mighty positive is a burgeoning rivalry that looks set to carry men’s tennis for the next decade?
This would be easy to do if the ban hadn’t arisen from a compromise. Far easier if Sinner had been cleared entirely. And not even a debate had this suspension been longer, which would have meant this final never was.
WHAT A MATCH POINT #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ocjYQIVUlt
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025
It’s complicated. Sinner’s case was not black and white, but the grey outcome was uncomfortable. It came down to less than a billionth of a gram of clostebol, the banned anabolic steroid, entering his system during a massage from his physio Giacomo Naldi.
It led to two failed drugs tests last March but initially no ban as Sinner was found to bear “no fault or negligence”. The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) disagreed, arguing players should bear some responsibility, and though seeking a one to two-year suspension Wada eventually negotiated and agreed on three months, a spell that sits uneasily among many within the sport.
Starting after the Australian Open in January, which Sinner won, and ending before the Italian Open – the final Masters event before the French Open – the suspension meant the world No 1 would not miss a grand slam.
With tennis boasting one of the most relentless schedules in sport, it even felt like an advantage, a chance to physically prime himself for Roland Garros and a surface he was yet to fully conquer.
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Henman said it was a “little too convenient”, Nick Kyrgios called it a “sad day”, while Novak Djokovic questioned the “inconsistencies” in cases between top players – Iga Swiatek having served a one-month ban after testing positive for trimetazidine last year – and those lower down.
Tara Moore is the prime example. The British doubles player lamented “19 months of lost time and emotional distress” when having her doping ban overturned in December 2023, and told The Times last year she is in debt having spent £200k to prove she wasn’t a cheat.
Moore’s career earnings total £482k, and what she would give for even just a portion of Sinner’s prize money from the French Open. In losing the final he still picks up a cheque for £1.08m, and takes his career total beyond the £30m mark.
His lawyers helped argue his case, and while he is fully entitled to acquire the best in the business, it is this access and discrepancy across the sport that prompted calls for change.
In January, the Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) launched a new scheme that would offer players pro bono support, “world-class legal expertise regardless of a player’s financial standing and personal resources”.
It’s a step, one inspired by Moore, who co-founded the PTPA’s Athlete Counsel & Equity (ACE) Program, but one that does not really apply to Sinner given his personal wealth and position within the sport.
Sinner, after all, will be at the top for a while. He dismantled Djokovic, outmanoeuvring the master of court coverage in the semi-finals, and though he lost to Alcaraz they are set for many more meetings on this stage.
Legendary. Thank you guys #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/x7r6EFNiCU
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025
He remains popular, too. He was not subjected to jeers at the French Open, while he has won the ATP’s Fans’ Favourite award in 2023 and 2024.
A hat-trick isn’t out of the question, but perhaps there is still room to win over a few more supporters, particularly those who struggle to shake off the ill-feeling from this ban.
In that regard then maybe Sinner could offer Moore some financial assistance. It’s his money, he can do what he likes, and he certainly doesn’t have to listen to me, but it would be a selfless act and just a small percentage of his past fortnight’s efforts.
Moore will never get those months back, while already Sinner is performing not only as if those three months never happened, but as if they actually helped. The loss somewhat lays this ban to rest, but it still doesn’t feel right.
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