World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban from professional tennis, effective immediately, following a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regarding his two positive doping tests from last year. Sinner would not be able to compete till May 4.
On Saturday, WADA released a statement announcing that it has accepted Jannik Sinner's explanation that his positive test for clostebol was due to unintentional contamination by his physiotherapist, leading to the settlement and three-month ban.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted that Sinner “did not intend to cheat”, but added in a statement: “However, under the code and by virtue of [Court of Arbitration for Sport] 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.”
WADA and Jannik Sinner reached a settlement
WADA has reached a settlement with Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who has accepted a 3-month ban after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024, due to an anti-doping rule violation.
WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September regarding Jannik Sinner's case, despite an Independent Tribunal initially ruling that he was not at fault or negligent.
Jannik Sinner's three-month ban will cost him the chance to defend his ranking points from Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte-Carlo, making him vulnerable to losing his number one spot to either Alexander Zverev or Carlos Alcaraz in the near future.
