Jannik Sinner will be suspended after all for two failed drug tests last March at Indian Wells. On Saturday, it was announced the ATP No. 1 and the World Anti-Doping Agency had agreed on a three-month suspension. This means the Italian will be back for the next Grand Slam event.
WADA had sought at least a year ban of Sinner after appealing the International Tennis Integrity Agency's ruling last year that found Sinner not guilty of any intentional wrongdoing. The ITIA chose not to discipline the Italian.
If anything, serving a three-month ban right now might only help him. (More on that in just a second.) Let's just hope that this is the end of the failed drug test dramas in tennis for quite a long time to come.
Who won and lost from Jannik Sinner's three-month ban due to failed drug tests
Winner: Jannik Sinner
The best part for the player is that while he obviously had a fantastic 2024, his best run of tournaments did not happen after he won the Australian Open and before the French Open. He did win the Miami Masters, that was the only final he reached between mid-February's Rotterdam Open to June's Halle Open. In other words, while he will lose points, he should lose so many that he does return ranked No. 1.
Moreover, Sinner can return in time for the Rome Masters, which is set to begin on May 7. The Italian missed that event last year due to an injury, and he could easily make up points before the French Open in late May with a good run in Rome. This also means, of course, that Sinner will not miss any Grand Slams.
The fact that the suspension comes earlier in the year means the ATP No. 1 will be fresh for big events later in 2025. A little bit of forced rest is only likely to help Sinner.
Loser: International Tennis Integrity Agency
The ITIA is supposed to be the main governing body of tennis, and hands out initial discipline on any failed drug tests. Or, in the case of Sinner, does not hand out any discipline. The fact that the Italian settled with the World Anti-Doping Agency implies the WADA had a good enough case to have Sinner serve a longer suspension than just three months.
The ITIA now looks fairly weak. Or, at least, weaker than it looked before. One might expect the WADA to appeal even more ITIA decisions in the future.
Winner: French Open
Roland Garros should now expect all the prime contenders for the title in Paris to be available to play. Sinner might not be the favorite, even if he stays No. 1, because he is still better on a hard court than on clay. Still, he will want to prove he can win at the highest level on clay, especially after serving a ban.
Loser: The sport of tennis
Tennis has had a bad look over the last year to those who might not follow the sport overly closely but might entertain doing so. Failed drug tests are nothing new in the sport, but having the top-ranked players on both the WTA and ATP fail tests and be suspended for a matter of time is extremely bad. (Then-WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek failed a drug test late last year and was suspended for a month.)
Plus, that the ITIA did not initially ban Sinner might make it seem as if there is a cover-up involved. That surely is not the case, but there is also a thin line between Sinner failing two drug tests last March and not being immediately punished versus a fading playing like Simona Halep failing a test and being banned for four years initially. The difference, to some, might simply be each player's ranking at the time of the failed test.