Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 727 Public Sensation
Chen Ran has been in the professional tennis world for so long and has always been at the top. With the support of an agency like IMG, he must have his own connections within the ATP.

To be precise, the top management of ATP is not a monolithic group.

Soon, Chen Ran received an inside information that shocked him: during this year's Indian Wells Masters, Sinner tested positive for drugs.

However, ATP did not make the matter public and instead handled it internally.

They accepted the explanation given by Sinner's team: the wound became infected because the masseur did not wear gloves during the massage.

As a result, Sinner did not receive any suspension for even a single day after his appeal.

But in theory, as long as the drug test shows drug-related symptoms, the results of this station will inevitably be cancelled, whether it is points or bonuses.

Therefore, ATP is still discussing internally to decide when to announce this news.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Can't you be more decisive in doing things? You're dragging your feet like this."

Chen Ran was not polite and directly exposed the news in advance.

After all, he controls a large amount of media resources.

Don’t forget that Chen Ran and James also have some friendship, and the latter also has considerable media resources in the United States.

At this point, global media reported the news that Sinner tested positive for drugs almost simultaneously.

At this moment, the ATP was also confused, and Sinner himself was also dumbfounded.

"What the hell?"

"Aren't you going to disclose this matter after the Olympics?"

"Which idiot revealed this?"

Sinner, the person involved, was completely furious.

He believed that an ATP executive must have sold the news to the reporter at a high price.

They betrayed me!

You should know that the agreement he reached with the ATP was to keep this matter secret and announce it to the public after the Olympics.

It was for this reason that Sinner, who had long lost interest in fighting, chose to withdraw from the Olympics.

What's more, drug testing at the Olympics is very strict, and he is worried that other problems might be discovered, but this would make him more passive.

Sinner never expected that this explosive news would be exposed in advance during the Olympics, and it instantly attracted a lot of attention.

Even many athletes would talk about this in private conversations, and it is also a topic of conversation among reporters from all over the world.

He was not prepared at all.

Although he did not participate in the Olympics, he became the focus of public discussion.

It's so unlucky.

Sinner was so angry that he smashed several Apple phones.

……

At this moment, the ATP is also in a state of confusion.

Deny the news?
However, they had already planned to announce the news after the Olympics, and announced that Sinner's positive test was caused by the masseur's operational error, so he did not need to be responsible, but he would need to deduct the points and prize money for the Indian Wells Masters semi-finals.

So if we deny the news now, will we slap ourselves in the face again after the Olympics?

Are you waiting for the whole world to laugh at you?
Damn it, there must be a traitor among us.

But they had no other choice. Since the news had already been exposed, they could only think of some solutions.

As an Italian, Gaudenzi looked haggard and helpless at this moment.

Originally, Chen Ran would choose to retire after the Paris Olympics, and the ATP would lose an epic superstar. But from another perspective, Sinner has grown up.

Although he has not won a Grand Slam yet, he has defeated Djokovic and Alcaraz in hard court competitions, so it is very likely that he will win the US Open this year.

With the new world number one and US Open champion, the ATP finally welcomed another superstar after the Big Four.

In the future ATP, if no other geniuses emerge, it would be a good time to build twin stars around Sinner and Alcaraz.

Perhaps the income will be less than when Chen Ran ruled, but the advantage is that both of them are young, and there will still be a steady stream of wealth and income for a long time to come.

What’s more, this world’s number one is Italian like him. Is there anything better than this?

However, Gao Dengqi's dream seemed to be shattered.

Media all over the world are accusing ATP of shielding Sinner, and even mocking Sinner as the crown prince of ATP.

Because even if some European and American players test positive for the virus in their urine, even if they are innocent and the ATP is not prepared to punish them, they will at least be banned from participating in competitions during the appeal period.

But Sinner, for the first time, did not receive any punishment and was allowed to continue competing, only to make up for his mistakes afterwards. This was indeed a first.

At this time, the outside media boldly raised a question: Are all the tennis players who refuse to participate in the Olympics worried about problems with their urine tests?
As we all know, doping control at the Olympics is the most stringent.

Those dishonest athletes really feel like there is a bomb buried in their hearts, and they are in constant fear.

Polish netizens suddenly realized what was going on and angrily shouted: Hurkacz, are you taking drugs too, so you don't dare to come to the Olympics?
After all, that weird guy announced his support for the Italians immediately after the Sinner incident broke out, believing that the other party was innocent.

One has to admire the way this Pole thinks.

Aren't you just anxious to prove that you are trying to cover up something?

Many tennis players participating in the Olympics have also questioned the ATP's double standards.

Because many players also insisted that they were wronged, but the ATP still banned them without any leniency. Why did it give Sinner special treatment?

When Chen Ran finished his first match at Roland Garros, he was surrounded by the media.

No one cared about his opponent, an unknown top 100 player.

Everyone only cares about what Chen Ran thinks.

After all, this Olympics is his farewell performance.

Because the Olympic Games are managed by the International Tennis Federation, Chen Ran now has nothing to do with the ATP.

"What do I think?"

"This is a bit absurd."

"Whether he was wrongly accused or not, that's aside, but first of all the process was not fair."

Chen Ran was just telling the truth.

"Sinner said this incident would show him who his true friends are."

"???" Chen Ran was speechless. "Sure enough, another guy with a weird train of thought."

Besides, he never thought of becoming friends with this guy who was 15 years younger than him.

If the leaders at home had not given him earnest advice beforehand, he would have really cursed.

After all, he has retired, but there are so many Chinese tennis players who still have to stay in this circle, and it is not good to offend people to death.

Chen Ran thought for a moment and then said, "Listen, I'm not targeting any one person. But I hope that ATP can come up with a charter. If similar things happen in the future, will all athletes follow this standard?"

"Well, the Olympic schedule is so tight, I have to prepare for the next one."

……

(End of this chapter)