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.
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