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It didn’t take long for Nick Kyrgios to give his verdict on Jannik Sinner’s three-month ban from tennis after his failed drug tests – and it will come as no surprise that it is damning.

Australian player Kyrgois has been the most outspoken critic of Sinner since he tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol last March.

World No 1 Sinner tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol last March, but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that it was down to accidental contamination.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has challenged the verdict and has asked for the Italian – who won last year’s US Open title shortly after the test was made public – to be banned from the sport for between one and two years.

Now it has been confirmed that ‘an agreement’ has been reached between WADA and Sinner’s team that will see him banned for just three months and crucially, he will be back in time to play in the French Open in May.

WADA accepts that 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 negligence of members of his entourage”.

Their statement revealed how they had reached their agreement with the Italian as it read: “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.”

Kyrgois was quick to question that decision, as he voiced an opinion many will share of what appears to be a ‘deal’ to avoid a longer ban.

“So WADA come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3-month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”

Former British No 1 Tim Henman rarely dips his toe in contentious tennis issues, but he agreed that the WADA/Sinner agreement left plenty of questions.

“First and foremost I don’t think in any way he has been trying to cheat at any stage, I don’t believe that,” four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman told Sky Sports News.

“However, when I read this statement this morning it just seems a little bit too convenient.

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“Obviously having just won the Australian Open, to miss three months of the Tour and therefore to be eligible to play at Roland Garros, the timing couldn’t have been any better for Sinner, but I still think it leaves a pretty sour taste for the sport.

“When you’re dealing with drugs in sport it very much has to be black and white, it’s binary, it’s positive or negative, you’re banned or you’re not banned.

“When you start reading words like settlement or agreement, it feels like there’s been a negotiation and I don’t think that will sit well with the player cohort and the fans of the sport.”

Almost a year has passed since the failed doping test and Henman suggests the wait to reach this verdict has been too elongated.

“He tested positive in Indian Wells in March, a long time ago, and to have had this cloud over his head also emphasises how we need to get to these conclusions a lot quicker,” said Henman.

“From Sinner’s point of view, he will be very keen to serve his ban, draw a line in the sand and get ready for Roland Garros, which is such a big priority for him.”

This deal feels like a very convenient timeframe for Sinner and he will have plenty of questions to answer about this story for the rest of his career.

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Jannik Sinner’s decision to accept an immediate ban after his representatives reached an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) means he will miss several major tournaments on the ATP Tour.

The three-time Grand Slam winner will be banned for three months and his suspension from all tennis runs from 9 February until 4 May.

The Italian’s nightmare started last March when he twice tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol and was provisionally suspended.

However, his lawyers successfully argued his case and he was allowed to continue playing before the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared him in August as they found he bore “no fault or negligence” for the failed tests.

Sinner, who was stripped of his prize money and points for the Indian Wells Open, said the substance entered his system when a member of his team messaged him using a cream that contained clostebol.

But WADA appealed the decision as they believe he should have been punished and requested a minimum ban between 12 months and 24 months.

The case was due to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April, but news broke on Saturday that Sinner had accepted a three-month ban with immediate effect.

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“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 negligence of members of his entourage,” the WADA statement said.

“However, 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.”

Affected Tournaments

Sinner was due to return to action at the Qatar Open this week, but he has already been replaced in the ATP 500 main draw by a lucky loser.

After that, he was due to travel to the United States for the Sunshine Double, but will now miss both of those tournaments and will lose a lot of points for the second of those events.

The Italian reached the semi-final of the Indian Wells Open last year, but he was stripped of his points later in the campaign due to the two positive tests.

He then won the Miami Open and will now be unable to defend the 1,000 points.

The clay-court season kicks off with the Monte Carlo Masters and last year he reached the semi-final so will drop 400 points while he was next expected to play at the Barcelona Open (no points to defend).

The Madrid Open will be the final event he misses as it runs from 23 April until 4 May. Sinner made the quarter-final last year so will drop 200 points.

He is expected to make his return at his home event, the Italian Open, which runs from May 7-18.

That is likely to be his only clay-court tournament before the 2025 French Open as the Roland Garros tournament gets underway on 28 May.

The season then moves to grass and Sinner will likely play one warm-up event before Wimbledon starts on 30 June.

Sinner won two Grand Slams with the controversy hanging over his head as he lifted the US Open last September, shortly after the ITIA announced he had been cleared, while he also successfully defended his Australian Open title at the start of 2025.

The post Jannik Sinner doping ban: Which tournaments will world No 1 miss due to suspension? appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic’s treatment during the Australian Open was ‘out of order’, according to Sky Sports Tennis lead presenter Gigi Salmon.

Djokovic’s tempestuous relationship with tennis fans around the world has been a theme throughout his career, as he has struggled to get the acclaim he might expect after a record-breaking career.

With 24 Grand Slam titles to his credit, more weeks as world No 1 than any player in history and a host of additional records that will cement his legacy as the most successful male tennis player of all-time, the 37-year-old would have the right to demand some acclaim from tennis fans.

Yet Djokovic was booed and jeered off court after he was forced to pull out of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev due to a hamstring injury.

That reaction from the fans sparked a big debate over Djokovic’s popularity battle, while a spat with Australian broadcaster Tony Jones also marred his time in Melbourne.

Jones mocked Djokovic and Serbian fans live on Channel 9 television, with the 10-time Australian Open champion refusing to do an on-court interview until the veteran presenter apologised for his jibes.

Now Salmon has given her verdict on the Djokovic controversies, as she insisted the tennis icon should be treated better.

“It’s disrespectful, it’s awful,” said Salmon, as she reflected on the constant negativity directed at Djokovic.

“He’s one of the greatest of all-time and in some people’s opinion the greatest, and they are booing him.

“He has given everything and more to this sport and yet there is still this feeling of negativity towards him.

“We put it (being booed off against Zverev) down to ticket holders spending a lot of money and being disappointed that the match ended early, but that was not an excuse.

“You could see he gave everything. Maybe someone who was sitting a long way back couldn’t see what we could see, but our commentary box for that match was at ground level and we could see his movement was being affected.

“When he was pushed out wide, we could see he was struggling. As he turned around, we could see his face and he was grimacing in pain. We knew he wasn’t right.

“It was a surprise the way it ended. A volley into the net and suddenly the match was over, but when you look back at the story behind the injury and how he didn’t train in the days before, you can understand it better.

“Then you look at the Channel 9 comments from Tony Jones they were out of order. I know people have different senses of humour in different countries, but as soon as I saw that I thought it was out of order and disrespectful.

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“As we know, Novak Djokovic will stand up for himself and he did that. The apology came and we all moved on.”

Salmon believes Djokovic has grown tired of his role as the ‘disruptor’ in men’s tennis, as she suggests the acclaim he craves will only come when he ends his career.

“I think there is a feeling that he will be appreciated when he stops playing,” she continued.

“That isn’t fair in many respects, but I think there is total respect for what he has achieved and in some ways his arrival on the scene was too late.

“People loved the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and this third guy as the disrupter. The fans have already divided up their loyalty and there was none left for Djokovic.

“I think he embraced the role of being the baddie and then he wants to be loved. Maybe that will come when he stops playing and everyone sits back and says ‘wow, that was an amazing career’.”

Djokovic has suggested his encouraging performances in Australia have fuelled the rest of 2025, with Salmon suggesting the win against Carlos Alcaraz was evidence that a 25th Grand Slam title can come for the Serbian legend.

“Djokovic’s performance in his win against Alcaraz shows the level is still there if the body allows him to get No 25,” she added.

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