World number one tennis player Jannik Sinner agreed to a three-month ban from tennis on Saturday, bringing an end to a doping scandal that has dogged the Italian tennis player for months. Sinner has twice tested positive for traces of the banned substance clostebol.
The February 9 to May 4 suspension means Sinner will be free to play in the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the season, which begins on May 25 at Roland Garros.
In a statement, Sinner said that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted that he “had no intent and did not derive any competitive advantage from the two positive tests” of the banned substance.
In August 2024, the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) announced Sinner had recorded two positive tests for a banned substance at the Indian Wells tournament in March.
It said an independent tribunal had since ruled Sinner was not at fault.
Sinner tested positive for clostebol, a steroid derivative of testosterone. It’s banned due to its anabolic qualities, which can improve muscle growth.
In a statement on Sinner’s Instagram in August, his team argued the prohibited substance entered the player’s system accidentally.
They alleged Sinner’s physiotherapist applied topical cream containing clostebol to a wound on their own finger before treating him.
“Coupled with various skin lesions on Jannik’s body, (the physiotherapist) caused the inadvertent contamination,” the statement said.
The agreement between Sinner and WADA also means that Sinner will be able to play in front of his home fans at the Rome Open which kicks off just after the end of his suspension and is the last big clay-court tournament before Roland Garros.
Saturday’s announcement brings to an end a controversy which has followed Sinner everywhere just as he rose to become the top player in men’s tennis and a multiple Grand Slam winner.
The 23-year-old was facing a potential ban of two years after WADA appealed to CAS against his initial exoneration by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), announced in August. Sinner’s result from Indian Wells was disqualified, and he was stripped of his $US325,000 ($AU482,000) winnings and the 400 ATP ranking points he earned from making the semi-final.
Kyrgios reacted to Saturday’s announcement on X, posting: “Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”
“I don’t believe in a clean sport anymore.” – wrote three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka.
The ITIA’s decision was made public just days before last year’s US Open, which Sinner subsequently won to claim his second Grand Slam after breaking his major tournament duck at the previous Australian Open.