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Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban for doping after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
Sinner, the men’s world No 1 who won the Australian Open last month, twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol last March. He was initially cleared of wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after proving he had been contaminated by his physiotherapist, and faced no ban from the sport.
But Wada appealed against that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), and the body has now reached an agreement with Sinner on the case.
“Mr Sinner will serve his period of ineligibility from 9 February 2025 to 11:59 pm on 4 May 2025,” Wada said in a statement, which will make him eligible to return before the French Open.
Wada accepted that Sinner “did not intend to cheat” or receive “any performance-enhancing benefit” and that he was inadvertently contaminated “without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage”.
It added: “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.”
Sinner said in a statement: “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.”
more to follow…
