Jannik Sinner has been handed an immediate three-month ban from tennis.
The 23-year-old, who claimed victory at the Australian Open last month, will serve the suspension from 9 February until 4 May after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over his two positive doping tests last year.
WADA appealed an initial decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) who cleared the Italian of any wrongdoing after he tested positive on two occasions.
In a statement on Saturday, the agency said: 'The World Anti-Doping Agency (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 that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024.
'In September, WADA lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Mr. Sinner, who had been found by an Independent Tribunal to bear no fault or negligence.
'Notwithstanding this appeal, the circumstances surrounding this specific case meant that in order to ensure a fair and appropriate outcome, WADA was prepared to enter into a settlement agreement, in accordance with Article 10.8.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code.
'Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Sinner will serve his period of ineligibility from 9 February 2025 to 11:59 pm on 4 May 2025 (which includes a credit for four days previously served by the athlete while he was under a provisional suspension). As per the Code Article 10.14.2, Mr. Sinner may return to official training activity from 13 April 2025'.
The World No 1 will be eligible to play in the year's next Grand Slam event, the French Open, which starts on 19 May. However, the next tournament he can play in is the Italian Open, which begins on 7 May.
In a statement released by his lawyers, Sinner said: 'This case had been hanging over me 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.
'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.'
Tennis's anti-doping body, the Tennis Integrity Agency, had accepted Sinner's explanation that the banned substance clostebol entered his system via a cream applied to a cut on his physio's hand.
They judged he bore 'no fault or negligence' and issued no suspension. WADA appealed, seeking a ban because they believe the judgement should have been: 'no significant fault or negligence'.
In August last year, Sinner denied allegations that he was given special treatment – and insists his conscience is clean - after he avoided a ban.
‘Of course I was worried, because it was the first time for me, you know, and hopefully the last time that I am in this situation,’ Sinner continued. ‘I believe I'm a fair player on and off the court… in my mind I know that I haven't done anything wrong.'
Sinner insisted he ‘always will respect these rules of anti-doping’ and denied that he has been treated as a special case. ‘Every player who gets tested positive has to go through the same process. There is no shortcut, there is no different treatment,’ he said.
‘I know sometimes the frustration of other players obviously. But maybe because they got suspended is they didn't know exactly where it comes from, also what substance, but the main reason is where it comes from and how it entered in his own system.’
The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced that, although Sinner was docked 400 ranking points and $250,000 dollars, he was found to bear ‘no fault or negligence’.
The 23-year-old first tested positive during the event in Indian Wells on March 10, then again eight days later.
Sinner was provisionally suspended, but on both occasions he successfully appealed and was allowed to continue playing while the tribunal assessed the evidence. But after a lengthy, behind-close-doors investigation, the player’s reason for the extremely small quantity of clostebol in his system – less than a billionth of a gram – was accepted.
