Jannik Sinner handed three-month ban for doping

LAUSANNE: The world number one tennis player, Jannik Sinner, received a three-month ban from competing as part of a settlement in his doping case.

The ban begun on February 9 and will last till May 4, meaning Sinner will be able to re-join competition in time for the French Open, the year’s next grand slam.

Initially, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled ‘no fault or negligence’ after the Italian player had failed a drug test and was found to have had trace amounts of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol in his sample. The ITIA believed Sinner’s explanation, that it was an accidental contamination from a substance used to treat a cut he sustained on his finger.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) challenged the decision in September of last year and lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA hoped to enforce a ban of between one to two years, as the agency believed the ruling was “not correct under the applicable ruled.”

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On Saturday, WADA posted a statement confirming that the agency “entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner.” The statement went on to explain that the agreement involved Sinner accepting a three-month ban for violating an anti-doping rule in March 2024.

The agency accepted Sinners’ explanation in regards to how the substance entered his system, stating that believe that he did not plan to cheat and that the substance entered his system “without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.” WADA also stated that they accept that the clostebol did not provide “any performance-enhancing benefit.”

Regardless, the agency believed a three-month ban is appropriate, as Sinner still “bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence.” WADA is not seeking to disqualify any of Sinner’s results.

Sinner’s last outing was in the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, which he won by beating Alexander Zverev in the finals.

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