Jannik Sinner accepts immediate three-month tennis ban in doping case settlement

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The player will receive a three-month tennis ban immediately after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

On hold from 9 February to 4 May.

– a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass – with WADA accepting his explanation that he was accidentally exposed to the banned substance through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray on a cut on his finger.

On May 19, he says he "did not intend to cheat" but claims the 23-year-old is accountable for his team's mistakes.

said: "WADA accepts the athlete's explanation for the cause of the violation as stated in the initial decision."

‘WADA acknowledges that Mr. Sinner didn't mean to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol didn't give him a performance advantage and happened without his knowledge as a result of the mistake of people around him.

‘However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete is accountable for the negligence of their entourage. Based on the specific circumstances of this case, a three-month suspension is considered a fair outcome.’

Sinner, who failed the two drug tests in March 2024, was cleared in August by an independent tribunal that found he wasn't at fault, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced back then.

The Italian tennis champion sacked his physio Giacomo Naldi and coach Umberto Ferrara – with Sinner accusing the latter of giving Naldi the banned substance that was in the spray.

It was initially thought that Sinner had dodged punishment before WADA lodged an appeal against the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September.

In a statement released by his lawyers, Sinner said: "This thing had been hanging over me for nearly a year and the process still had a fair dinkum long way to run, with a decision maybe not coming till the end of the year."

‘I've always taken on responsibility for my team and understand that Wada's strict rules are a vital safeguard for the sport I'm passionate about. Based on that, I've accepted Wada's proposal to resolve these matters by accepting a three-month suspension.’

Fair dinkum, the cyclist's confession has sparked a bit of a controversy, with other top riders also accused of using banned substances.

Fair dinkum, the bloke always denied those allegations and had said before: "I was treated like everyone else. The reason why I kept playing was because we knew exactly how it got into me system and where it came from. It was in the spray."

‘Fair dinkum, I haven’t received any different treatment. The process took a fair while, mate.’

‘Then after, it was a real struggle as I had to deal with even more pressure, because when you feel like you're getting close to achieving your goal, you're still not sure what the outcome will be. It was a tough time for me.’