WADA disqualified world number one Sinner for three months

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has suspended world No. 1-ranked Italian Yannick Sinner from competition and training for three months due to a banned substance found in his samples. The agency announced this on February 15 on its website.

"The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it has reached an agreement to settle the case of Italian tennis player Yannick Sinner, according to which the player agreed to a three-month period of ineligibility for violation of anti-doping rules," the WADA said in a statement.

It is specified that in March 2024 in the samples of the athlete found a substance clostebol, which is considered doping.

According to Sinner's explanation, the banned substance was part of the spray, which his doctor used to treat a cut on his hand. It got into the tennis player's system from the doctor's hands while massaging his legs, which had minor wounds due to the athlete's skin disease.

WADA accepted this explanation and concluded that the banned substance got into Sinner's body due to the negligence of his entourage and did not give him any advantage during the competition, so no results were canceled. The agency considered three months of ineligibility to be a sufficient punishment for the athlete.

The suspension counts from February 9 and will end on May 4. From April 13, 2025, Sinner will be able to return to training.

" I believe WADA's strict rules are important to protect the sport I love. That's why I accepted WADA's offer to settle this process on the basis of a three-month disqualification," Sky Sport Italia quoted Sinner as saying.

Earlier, on December 17, 2024, a banned substance was found in the sample of Ukrainian midfielder of English soccer club Chelsea Mykhailo Mudryk. He took the test, which later turned out to be positive, back in October.