World No1 tennis player Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban for doping having tested positive for a banned substance last year following a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
WADA had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against an independent tribunal's decision in August to clear Sinner of wrongdoing after he failed drug tests.
Sinner had tested positive for anabolic agent clostebol which he said had entered his system during therapy and massages from a member of his support team. The case was set to be heard by CAS in April.
Sinner's ban began on February 9 and will end on May 4 while he can return to training on April 13.
"WADA confirms 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," WADA said in a statement on Saturday.
"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. As previously stated, WADA did not seek a disqualification of any results, save that which was previously imposed by the tribunal of first instance.”
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. Sinner can also return at his home tournament, the Italian Open in Rome, which starts May 7.
"This case had been hanging over me now 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,” Sinner said in a statement.
“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realize 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 3-month sanction.”
