Jannik Sinner has accepted an immediate three-month ban from tennis after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Sinner returned two positive drug tests last year, though has always protested his innocence.
The 23-year-old insists he was inadvertently contaminated with the banned substance clostebol by his physiotherapist while receiving a massage.
Sinner was initially cleared but the WADA opted to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Jannik Sinner has accepted an immediate three-month ban from tennis after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency
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The tennis star has now been given a three-month ban, which he has accepted.
The suspension will run from February 9 until May 4, meaning the world No 1 will be free to play in the Grand Slams later in the year.
A statement from WADA read: "WADA accepts the athlete’s explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision.
“WADA accepts that Mr. 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, 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."
Sinner has enjoyed a terrific past 12 months, despite the controversy hanging over him.
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He won the 2024 Australian Open to secure the first Grand Slam title of his career, with the Italian overcoming Daniil Medvedev to etch his name into the history books.
Sinner then proceeded to claim US Open glory in September, with the world No 1 dismantling Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
And the tennis star was recently too strong for Alexander Zverev in the final of the Australian Open, with the German also beaten in straight sets.
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REUTERSSpeaking after securing glory in that competition, Sinner insisted he had a clear mind and couldn't have played as well as he did if he thought he was guilty.
"I just came off an amazing run again here. I want to enjoy this moment. Then it's the hearing. We know now the dates, and that's it," he said.
"I'm very proud. It's actually tough to describe. Many, many things happen off the court, what you maybe don't know. When I go on the court, even if sometimes it's very difficult to block these kind of things, I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me.
Jannik Sinner has won three Grand Slam titles throughout his career so far
Reuters"That for me is even more important because I can talk very openly with them. When I go on court, I try to focus on the match. Of course, it's still a little bit in the back of your mind. I know that I'm in this position now. So nothing I can change.
"I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened. If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this. Every time it [the case] came out in a very positive way, and I still believe it's going to be that case.
"At the moment I'm not thinking about this. Of course, you have your moments of certain days where you feel like I wish I would not have this problem."
