World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was hit with a three-month ban from playing tennis over a doping scandal.
According to BBC, the Italian tennis star settled his doping case with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after accepting an immediate three-month ban.
The three-time Grand Slam champion will remain suspended from February 9, 2025, to May 4, 2025.
WADA, who appealed against the player to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), in a statement on Saturday, February 15, 2025, accepted the 2025 Australian Open winner's explanation that he accidentally took a banned substance.
It said, “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.”
Moreover, in a statement released by Sinner's lawyer, the two-time Australian Open champion said, “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,” he continued.
Notably, after the ban, Sinner will miss hard court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami and also clay court events and will return right before the Italian Open in Rome, scheduled to kick off on May 7, 2025, ahead of the French Open.
