Top-ranked Jannik Sinner gets three-month ban in settlement of doping case

Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency over his two positive doping tests, the organization said Saturday.

WADA had challenged a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency not to suspend Sinner for what it judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March.

Sinner’s explanation — that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger — had been accepted.

The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open in January, will be eligible to compete in the next Grand Slam. The French Open begins May 25.

WADA had originally appealed the ITIA’s ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. It sought to ban him from the sport for at least one year.

The suspension is from Feb. 9 to May 4.

Sinner could return at his home tournament, the Italian Open in Rome, which starts May 7.