Jannik Sinner has agreed to a three-month suspension from tennis to resolve a long-standing case after testing positive for a prohibited substance, according to an announcement from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Saturday.

The men’s world No 1 will face a ban from February 9 to May 4, because of two positive tests for the banned substance Clostebol, recorded in March 2024. The timeline allows him to return in time for the French Open, the next Grand Slam event on the schedule.

Previously, Sinner had managed to avoid a competition suspension when the International Tennis Integrity Agency declared in August that he bore no fault for the positive results. The two samples, taken eight days apart at Indian Wells in March 2024, revealed low concentrations of Clostebol, an anabolic steroid.

In an August statement shared on social media, Sinner clarified that his positive drug tests were the result of “inadvertent contamination of Clostebol” linked to treatment from his physiotherapist. The 23-year-old explained that his physiotherapist had been using an over-the-counter spray on their own skin to treat a minor wound, and not on Sinner himself.

After the independent tribunal’s ruling on the matter, WADA filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But after reaching an agreement with Sinner, WADA announced that it has officially withdrawn its appeal.

In its statement on Saturday, WADA acknowledged that Sinner did not intend to cheat and emphasised that his exposure to Clostebol did not result in any performance-enhancing benefits. The agency noted that the contamination occurred without Sinner’s knowledge due to the negligence of individuals in his entourage.