Jannik Sinner was just as surprised by which fellow players sent him messages of support at the start of his three-month doping ban as those who sent nothing.

The return of top-ranked Jannik Sinner from a three-month doping ban at the Italian Open tennis tournament just up the road from the Vatican is stirring up so much attention that local headlines are declaring “Habemus Sinner” — a variant of the Latin words “Habemus Papam!

Rarely has an athlete been welcomed back from a doping ban with so much fanfare. Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner was treated to a stadium filled with nearly 5,000 fans for his first practice session at the Italian Open on Monday -- the day his three-month banishment from the sport expired.