Jannik Sinner officially received a suspension after coming to an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Italian and his lawyer made statements after the news became official.
Sinner's case had been live since testing positive for the banned substance clostebol at March's 2024 Indian Wells Open. However, fans were only made aware of it in August because the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) kept its investigation private.
The ITIA cleared Sinner of wrongdoing, but WADA appealed the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS). At that stage, it wanted a ban of between one and two years implemented.
Instead, WADA and Sinner's team agreed to a three-month suspension to avoid the CAS hearing. The ban runs from February 9th until May 4th, when he can freely return to professional competition on the ATP Tour.
In his statement about the news, Sinner mentioned how long the case had been hanging over him and did not want to go through the CAS hearing, the result of which might not have been until the end of this year.
"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."
Sinner's lawyer, Jamie Singer, was optimistic about the news. Although the ATP world No. 1 has been given a short suspension, Singer is happy that his client can try to put the case behind him and that WADA accepted he did not deliberately take the clostebol.
"I am delighted that Jannik can finally put this harrowing experience behind him. WADA has confirmed the facts determined by the Independent Tribunal. It is clear that Jannik had no intent, no knowledge, and gained no competitive advantage. Regrettably, errors made by his of members of his team led to this situation."
Singer is correct that WADA's announcement of the three-month ban accepted that Sinner did not mean to take the clostebol and that it did not impact his performance at last year's Indian Wells Open, since the amount was so negligible.
This agreed settlement before the CAS case is surprising because WADA initially sounded adamant that Sinner should receive a lengthier ban for the offense, with the threat of a two-year ban sounding real.
Some also thought WADA would win the case. This included a well-known sports lawyer, who said a few months ago that he was convinced the governing body would triumph if it went to the CAS hearing.
However, Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency and pivotal in Lance Armstrong's suspension, said he did not believe Sinner deserved a suspension and that the ITIA's verdict was appropriate.
WADA may have been uncertain of its chances of winning the case after some consideration, but that will never be known for sure after the settlement with Sinner.
