has insisted he nearly gave up tennis before being for doping offences. The 23-year-old will be able to return to the sport on May 5, two days before the Italian Open gets underway.

Sinner initially avoided a suspension after the banned substance clostebol was found in his system last April. He maintains his physio inadvertently contaminated him during a routine procedure after applying a spray to his own finger to treat a cut. But the Italian was eventually banned after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in February.

Ahead of his sanction, Sinner clinched the third Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open as he overcame Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the showpiece match.

He then opted to sit out the Rotterdam Open at the start of February before his ban was confirmed.

And during an interview with Italian news programme this week, an emotional Sinner explained: "Did I ever think about giving up? Yes, I did."

He then revealed: "Before the Australian Open this year, I was in a not so happy moment. Arriving there in Australia I didn't feel comfortable in the locker room, where I went to eat. The players looked at me differently. I didn't like it.

"There, I thought that living tennis that way was really heavy. I thought about taking some time off after Australia.

"Then it went as it went, I didn't want it to go like this but in the other sense at that moment it did me good.

"Three months is long. But one reason I didn't play Rotterdam was precisely that, I needed time with friends and to give priority to the people I love."

Sinner's ban fell between the Australian Open and the , which means he hasn't been forced to miss any of the Majors.

He will therefore be able to compete at Roland Garros after reaching the semi-finals of the tournament last year.

Sinner lost out to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller in Paris last time around but will go into this season's French Open as one of the favourites to land the title after winning three of the last five Majors.

The talented star won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2024 and backed that up by clinching victory at the US Open last September. He also reached the quarter-final of Wimbledon in the summer, before being dispatched by Daniil Medvedev.