World No.1 tennis star Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban in a doping settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, the organisation confirmed the development on Saturday.
Sinner, the three-time Grand Slam winner, will be serving three months of ineligibility that will see him being suspended from playing from February 9 until May 4, following his two positive doping tests in 2024.
Sinner had tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol in March 2024, however, he was cleared by an independent tribunal in August. The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the trace amounts of Clostebol in his sample entered his body due to a massage from a trainer, who used a spray which had the steroid while treating a cut on their finger.
The World Doping Agency was earlier looking for a ban of between one of two years for the Italian star. The Agency appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last year in September. It has formally withdrawn its appeal.
In a statement released, the agency said it has accepted Sinner’s explanation and believes he did not intend to cheat. “WADA accepts the athlete’s explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision. 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 the negligence of members of his entourage,” the agency said in its statement on Saturday.
“However,” the WADA statement continued, “under the code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome. As previously stated, WADA did not seek a disqualification of any results, save that which was previously imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
The Agency further stated that the International Tennis Federation and ITIA, “both co-respondents to WADA’s CAS appeal, neither of which appealed the first-instance decision, both accepted the case resolution agreement.
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Sinner also reacted to the decision. “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 realize 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 3-month sanction”
Notably, Sinner will serve a ban from February 9 to May 4. He can return for the Italian Open in Rome, his home tournament, which starts on May 7. He is also eligible to play in the French Open, which will get underway on May 25.