Sinner given 3-month ban in doping drama

Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner was handed a three-month doping ban in a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency announced on Saturday and criticised as lacking impartiality and fairplay, after women's former No. 1 Iga Swiatek's controversial doping case that saw only a one-month suspension last year.

- Shahid Judge

MUMBAI:

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had appealed to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) against the International Tennis Integrity Agency's (ITIA) decision to not suspend Sinner after twice testing positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic agent, in March last year. He denied any wrongdoing and blamed his support staff, arguing that the substance entered his body while being given massage.

The hearing in the case was scheduled for April, but Sinner's camp accepted a three-month ban after reaching a settlement with WADA.

The WADA decision—the suspension runs from February 9 to May 4, and he can return to training on April 13—will allow the three-time Slam champion to play in the French Open. It was seen as a convenient decision by Nick Kyrgios and Stan Wawrinka.