World number one Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month tennis ban after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over two positive drug tests last year.
The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open last month, will be suspended from 9 February to 4 May. However, he will be eligible to play in the French Open, which starts on 19 May.
WADA had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the 2024 decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend Sinner. WADA had sought a ban of up to two years, but on Saturday, it accepted Sinner’s explanation that he was accidentally contaminated with the banned substance clostebol by his physiotherapist. As a result, the case will no longer go to court.
WADA accepted that Sinner “did not intend to cheat,” the drug did not improve his performance, and it was a result of negligence by his team. However, the agency stated that under the rules, athletes are responsible for the actions of their entourage. Given the circumstances, a three-month suspension was deemed appropriate.
In a statement, Sinner said: “This case has been hanging over me for almost a year, and it could have taken much longer to resolve. I’ve always accepted that I am responsible for my team, and I understand that WADA’s strict rules are important for protecting the sport I love. I’ve agreed to the three-month sanction to resolve this.”
There have been other high-profile doping cases in tennis recently. In November, top female player Iga Świątek accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance while ranked number one.
Sinner had previously been cleared by an independent panel after testing positive for clostebol in March 2024. The panel accepted that he had been unintentionally contaminated by his physiotherapist, who had used an over-the-counter spray on Sinner’s hand wound, which contained the banned substance.
While the ITIA found that Sinner was not at fault for the positive test, WADA appealed, arguing that the finding was incorrect under the rules. It had called for a one to two-year ban, with a hearing set for April.
Sinner has now accepted the three-month ban and will miss major events such as the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments, as well as several clay events leading up to the French Open. He can return to training on 13 April, and his next tournament will be the Italian Open, starting on 7 May. WADA has officially withdrawn its CAS appeal, and the ITIA supports the final outcome.
