Jannik Sinner Accepts Three-Month Ban In Case Resolution Agreement With WADA
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Jannik Sinner will be banned from competing for three months after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Sinner tested positive for a banned substance last year, and even though the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found 'no fault or negligence' on the Italian player's side, WADA appealed the case.
It was supposed to be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April, but that has now been canceled after the two parties reached an agreement.
WADA confirmed in a statement that they have entered a 'a case resolution agreement' with Sinner. WADA believes that the ATP World No. 1 had certain fault in the case, which is why they were seeking some suspension.
Only recently, WADA's spokesperson stated they were seeking a one to two-year ban for Sinner, but now, they have agreed on a three-month period of ineligibility.
In the statement, WADA confirmed that since Sinner's case was unique, they find a three-month suspension as a reasonable agreement.
"WADA accepts the athlete’s explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision. 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."
"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."
For Sinner, this means he won't be allowed to compete between February 9th and May 4th, 2025. The Italian player will also be allowed to start training on April 13th, 2025.
This is an ideal scenario for the Italian player. Although he will miss some tournaments, he won't be forced to miss any majors, as the French Open starts May 25th, so he will be allowed to compete at the clay-court major.
On top of that, Sinner will also be eligible to play at the Italian Open in Rome, which is his home ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The event in Rome starts on May 7th.
On the other hand, the ATP World No. 1 player will have to miss the Qatar Open in Doha, the Indian Wells Open, the Miami Open, the Monte-Carlo Masters, and the Madrid Open.
Those are the ATP Masters 1000 events he won't be able to play, even though Sinner's schedule would have likely looked a bit differently this year, as he didn't plan to play in Monte Carlo regardless. Instead, he signed up to play at the Munich Open. That means he won't play in Munich either.
Despite being suspended, Sinner will keep his World No. 1 ranking, even though he's likely to lose it during his period of ineligibility. Second Alexander Zverev will have to collect 2,500 points at the four ATP Masters 1000 events to surpass the Italian.
