LONDON: World number one Jannik Sinner has accepted an immediate three-month doping ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said they had reached a settlement on his period of ineligibility, allowing him to return before the French Open in May.
WADA had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Sinner’s initial exoneration by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), announced in August after the three-time major winner failed drug tests.
Sinner, who successfully defended his Australian Open crown last month, had tested positive for anabolic agent clostebol which the 23-year-old said had entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy.
Sinner’s ban began on February 9 and will end on May 4 while he can return to training on April 13. The French Open is scheduled to begin on May 25.
“WADA confirms that it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation,” WADA said in a statement on Saturday.
“WADA accepts that Mr Sinner did not intend to cheat and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage. However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence.”
The case was set to be heard by CAS in April and Sinner was in danger of being banned for up to two years. Sinner will miss Masters tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.
The positive tests were not intially made public while the ITIA investigation was ongoing and Sinner had been allowed to carry on playing after successfully appealing provisional suspensions.
“We were satisfied that the player had established the source of the prohibited substance and that the breach was unintentional. Today’s outcome supports this finding,” said the ITIA on Saturday.
WADA has formally withdrawn its appeal to CAS after they reached a settlement while they did not seek disqualification of his results.
“This case had been hanging over me now for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year,” Sinner said in a statement.
“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”
The ATP said it acknowledged the resolution of Sinner’s case following his agreement with WADA.
“This case is an important reminder of players’ responsibility to carefully manage the products and treatments they or their entourages use,” it said.
Sinner is the second high-ranked player to accept a doping ban in recent months after world number two Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November having tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ).
Swiatek had been provisionally suspended from September 12 until October 4, missing three tournaments as a result while she also forfeited prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament directly following the test.
Sinner’s lawyer Jamie Singer said WADA had confirmed the facts determined by the independent tribunal. “It is clear that Jannik had no intent, no knowledge, and gained no competitive advantage. Regrettably, errors made by members of his team led to this situation,” Singer said.
‘BIAS IS UNACCEPTABLE’
However, the decision did not go down well with the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), an organisation established by Novak Djokovic.
“The ‘system’ is not a system. It’s a club. Supposed case-by-case discretion is, in fact, merely cover for tailored deals, unfair treatment, and inconsistent rulings,” the PTPA said. “It’s not just the different results for different players. It’s the lack of transparency. The lack of process. The lack of consistency… This bias is unacceptable for all athletes and shows a deep disrespect for every sport and its fans.”
Australian Nick Kyrgios, who had previously said the two doping incidents were ‘disgusting’ for the sport, said it was a “sad day for tennis” after several other players received longer bans for similar positive tests.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka was equally damning of the deal, writing: “I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore.”
Former world number one Simona Halep had questioned the “big difference” in how doping cases are treated after she was banned despite strongly denying knowingly taking the banned substance roxadustat.
Halep was initially banned for four years, a period later reduced to nine months after an appeal.
The ITIA’s decision was made public just days before last year’s US Open, which Sinner subsequently won to claim his second Grand Slam after breaking his major tournament duck at the previous Australian Open.
Sinner then successfully defended his title at Melbourne Park last month, becoming just the fourth man to do so since the turn of the century alongside tennis icons Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
By that point he had confirmed his status as national hero in Italy by winning the ATP Finals in Turin and then starring in his country’s second straight Davis Cup triumph.
Sinner, who pulled out of defending his title at this month’s Rotterdam Open, had previously been viewed with some suspicion in the Mediterranean nation.
His origins in the German-speaking areas of South Tyrol and residence in Monaco led to local media and former tennis players casting doubt on whether he was Italian at all.
But he is now Italy’s biggest sports star after surging to the top of the sport ahead of Spain’s golden boy Carlos Alcaraz, himself a four-time Grand Slam champion at the age of 21.
Italian Tennis and Padel Federation president Angelo Binaghi said Sinner would be welcomed with open arms at the Italian Open, which begins in Rome three days after his ban ends.
“This is the first time that a shameful injustice makes us happy because our first thought is for the boy who sees the end of a nightmare,” Binaghi said.
Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2025
