Well, it’s official, and it’s not good news. All those rumors about Jannik Sinner getting a ban because of the doping controversy? Turns out they were right. On Saturday, the world number one has accepted a three-month ban after reaching an agreement with WADA. So, Sinner’s out from February 9th to May 4th, meaning he can’t play in any ATP events during that time. Talk about a blow for his fans.

The latest update might not come as a shock to those who have followed this case since last few months. Although Sinner was initially termed not guilty by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), WADA decided to appeal against its verdict. In September 2024, it had reached out to the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS) for a proper hearing in the case. CAS later issued the dates for the hearing in April. But now that Sinner has accepted the ban, WADA has withdrawn the appeal.

Speaking more about the ban, WADA issued a statement on Saturday confirming that “it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024. ”

The biggest takeaway from the statement is the agency admitted that 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, WADA also stated that “an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence”

Tennis has been dealing with quite a few doping cases lately. Just in the last six months, we’ve seen some big names involved. Remember when Iga Swiatek, who was world number one at the time, got a one-month suspension back in November? She tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ). That meant she was provisionally suspended from September 12th to October 4th, had to miss three tournaments, and even lost her prize money from the Cincinnati Open.

While the latest news is disappointing for fans who were hoping for their star player not to get banned, there’s still a silver lining in this development. But how? Well, it seems he won’t miss a Slam opportunity this season!

Despite the ban, Jannik Sinner’s French Open hopes stay alive

Jannik Sinner’s ban is active from February 9 till May 4. Speaking of the popular ATP events Sinner will miss due to the suspension, they include the Qatar Open, BNP Paribas Open, Miami Open, Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, and Madrid Open. The next tournament he can play in is the Italian Open, which begins on 7 May. It simply indicates he will be eligible to participate in the second major of 2025. The French Open is set to begin in late May – after the Italian would have served the ban.

He must be feeling relieved now, realizing he will finally get rid of this phase when he comes back after the ban. Why so? In a statement released by his lawyers, Sinner suggested the case would have stretched for a long time had he not accepted the ban. “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,” reported BBC on February 15.

Continuing further, he added, “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.”

As far as his return is concerned, WADA has confirmed that he can resume “official training activity” from 13 April 2025.