MELBOURNE, Australia — There’s an alternate universe in which Jannik Sinner’s brilliance has no qualification.

He was clinical in dispatching Alexander Zverev in straight sets Sunday, displaying outrageous athleticism and shotmaking throughout his 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 win in the Australian Open final. He won his second Australian Open title, a second straight Grand Slam title and his third major overall. The win evolves his compelling rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, who he trails 4-3 when it comes to Grand Slam titles and who appears to be his only close rival at the top of the ATP Tour.

That’s not the universe in which this all took place. Only on April 16 and 17, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) convenes its behind-closed-doors hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland to rule on world anti-doping authorities’ appeal into Sinner’s doping case, will there be any clarity at the top of men’s tennis.

That hearing will begin nearly 11 months after Sinner’s opponent settled a domestic abuse case brought by his ex-partner and the mother of his child, Brenda Patea, out of court. “The decision is not a verdict and it is not a decision about guilt or innocence,” a Tiergarten District Court spokesperson told The Athletic when the settlement was confirmed in June 2024. Zverev denied the allegations.

When Zverev took the microphone to begin his on-court interview Sunday, a spectator appeared to shout “Australia believes Olya and Brenda! Australia believes Olya and Brenda!” in apparent reference to Patea and Olya Sharypova.

Sharypova, a Russian former tennis player, said that Zverev repeatedly abused her in 2019. She never involved the criminal justice system and the ATP decided to take no further action in January 2023 following a 15-month independent investigation that included extensive interviews with Zverev, Sharypova and 24 others.

Zverev has always denied any wrongdoing.

“I believe there are no more accusations. There haven’t been for, what, nine months now,” he said in his news conference after the final.

“Good for her. I think she was the only one in the stadium who believed anything in that moment. If that’s the case, good for her,” he said.

“I think I’ve done everything I can, and I’m not about to open that subject again.”

The incident with Zverev after the final only adds to the feeling of provisionality that surrounded the match before it began. Sinner once again displayed his hard-court brilliance and big-match temperament, but what it means for tennis will not be decided on the court.

Shortly before the U.S. Open, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Sinner, the men’s world No. 1, had twice tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, in March of that year.

It also announced that an independent hearing, convened by the ITIA, had found Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” for those positive tests, accepting his explanation that he had been contaminated by a healing spray purchased by his physio, Umberto Ferrara, after his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, used it on a cut on his hand before giving Sinner a massage. Sinner did not receive a ban, and he appealed successfully against the two provisional suspensions imposed for the two tests.

Sinner parted company with Ferrara and Naldi, part of the team that took him to world No. 1, on the eve of the U.S. Open, which Sinner won. In a sombre news conference after beating Taylor Fritz in the final, it was clear that September afternoon that the uncertainty of the previous few months was weighing heavily on Sinner.

A couple of weeks later, the world anti-doping agency (WADA) lodged an appeal against the ITIA’s “no fault or negligence” verdict that could lead to a ban of up to two years for Sinner, even though WADA is not challenging the ITIA’s independent hearing having found that Sinner did not intentionally use a banned substance.

Even if it’s only a few months, Sinner would miss this year’s French Open and Wimbledon and could arrive at the U.S. Open seriously undercooked. It’s possible that Sunday’s win against Zverev was the last the world will see of Sinner at the majors this year.

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When he arrived in Melbourne to defend his title, it was clear that the normally placid Sinner was tiring of the constant questions about his future and integrity. Fellow players such as Nick Kyrgios had lined up to take potshots, and when Sinner was asked about the Australian’s repeated taunts, there was a rare flash of frustration. “I don’t want to respond on what Nick (Kyrgios) said or what the other players say,” he said in a pre-tournament news conference.

“I think the the most important part is to have my people around me who I can trust. People they exactly know what happened. And that’s it.”

“How do I block it? It’s not that you just put it in a part and you just say, ‘I don’t think anymore about this’, but in my mind I know exactly what happened,” Sinner continued.

“And that’s how I block it. I haven’t done anything wrong. That’s why I’m still here. And that’s why I’m still playing.”

Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s final, Sinner’s coach, Darren Cahill, said that the Italian “finds playing tennis matches to be his safe place”.

This is certainly how it’s looked at the last two Grand Slams, both of which Sinner has won despite all the background noise.

Jannik Sinner was in imperious form on court in Melbourne. (Mark Avellino / Getty Images)

At this year’s Australian Open he dropped just two sets, and was only in danger in the fourth round against Holger Rune, when he was struggling with illness in the heat of the day and what looked like physical discomfort. Sinner found a way to avoid going down a break in the third set, and after a medical timeout and another 21-minute break because of a broken net, found a way to dig the match out in four sets.

“I was lucky,” Sinner said afterwards. Rune resisted digging his opponent out after the match but said of Sinner’s 11-minute medical timeout: “Sitting in the heat for me cooking out there is a bit tough.” He added that after the break “he came back firing, so I don’t know what they did”.

Following a volley of criticism in August from fellow players including Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov and Lucas Pouille when Sinner escaped a ban, there was an indirect jibe on Friday. Novak Djokovic took the unusual step of declaring an allegiance by saying of the final: “I wish Sascha all the best. You know, he deserves his first slam. I’ll be cheering for him. Hopefully he can get it here.”

Misgivings in the locker room may continue after Sinner’s hearing in April, whatever the verdict, but there will be clarity on the situation. At the moment, it’s not just Sinner who must be unsure about what the next few months will look like.

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Is Alcaraz about to lose his biggest rival and the man who inspires him to play his best tennis? Will Djokovic be handed a major boost for his 25th Grand Slam title or will that feel like a forlorn hope if both Sinner and Alcaraz are around? What about Zverev, who looks short against the very best but is solid enough that with Sinner gone he could take advantage of a decent draw and win a first major title?

These aren’t really questions anyone wants to be asking in the aftermath of a player winning a Grand Slam, but that’s the reality of the situation.

This is not that alternate universe where it’s possible to freely marvel at the coolness of Sinner’s celebration after that epic 21-shot rally, when he jutted his chest out, let out some deep breaths and clenched his fist. Or to reflect only on a serving masterclass that saw him not face a break point all match, winning 84 percent of his 57 first-serve points.

“Many, many things happen off the court, what you maybe don’t know,” Sinner said in his news conference.

“When I go on the court, even if sometimes it’s very difficult to block these kind of things, I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me.”

“You’re the best player in the world by far,” said Zverev in his on-court interview before comparing Sinner to “prime Novak” in a news conference. Zverev also spoke of his appreciation for the way Sinner comforted him during the trophy presentation.

But he and everyone knows that as significant as nights like this are, his most important match this year will take place in a hearing.

There was a clear result in Sunday night’s match, but for Sinner and men’s tennis, there are unanswered questions everywhere.

(Top photo: Vincent Thian / Associated Press)