What happens next for Sinner after doping case?

Jannik Sinner retained his Australian Open title in January

Just under a month after defending his Australian Open title, Jannik Sinner will serve a three-month ban from tennis.

The Italian world number one has reached a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) after a case that has rumbled on for nearly a year.

Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent tribunal after twice testing positive for banned substance clostebol in March 2024.

Wada initially launched an appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), seeking a ban of between one and two years.

That hearing was set for April - but it was announced that Sinner and Wada had reached a settlement, with Sinner serving a ban from 9 February until 14 May.

BBC Sport analyses the key questions at the heart of a complex subject.

Will Sinner lose any titles or his ranking?

Wada was not seeking a disqualification of Sinner's results, so he will not lose any titles.

But as per the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) panel's initial ruling, Sinner's results, 400 ranking points and £258,000 prize money from the ATP Masters 1,000 event at Indian Wells where he tested positive on the way to the semi-finals in 2024, are disqualified.

His Australian Open double and the US Open title he won in September remain unaffected.

He will remain world number one, but being unable to play tournaments and defend the points he has accrued means his rivals have the chance to overtake him in the rankings.

However, Sinner has a huge lead because of his success over the past 12 months. He has 11,830 points - a lead of more than 3,000 over Germany's world number two Alexander Zverev (8,135), with Spain's Carlos Alcaraz third (7,510).

Because of the ban Sinner will not be able to defend his Miami Open title, which takes place from 19-30 March and is worth 1,000 points.

Sinner will also miss this year's Indian Wells tournament, the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Open, also 1,000 points each.

But losing his top ranking would also rely on his rivals winning multiple tournaments - and Alcaraz is already defending 1,000 points in Indian Wells, where he is the reigning champion.

When will Sinner return?

Sinner's ban runs from 9 February to 4 May 2025, a period which Wada says includes a credit for the four-day provisional suspension he served when he first tested positive.

Wada say Sinner will be able to return to training activity from 13 April.

The earliest he could return would be at the Italian Open, which begins in Rome three days after his ban ends.

Italian Tennis and Padel Federation president Angelo Binaghi said "all of Italy" would welcome Sinner back.

Sinner would also be able to compete at the French Open - the second Grand Slam of the season - when it begins on 19 May, having reached the semi-finals there last year.

What has Wada said?

In a statement released in February, Wada said it accepted Sinner "did not intend to cheat", that the drug "did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit" and this happened "without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage".

It means the Cas hearing will not take place, but Sinner will serve a three-month suspension as "under the code and by virtue of Cas precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage's negligence".

Wada said it had entered into a settlement agreement with Sinner under provision 10.8.2 in its code.

A spokesperson said: "This provision was introduced to the code in 2021. Since then it has been used dozens of times for cases with exceptional circumstances such as this one.

"Given there are many thousands of cases, it is not used that often and is the exception rather than the rule but there has been plenty of precedent for this.

"Ultimately in this case three months represents a fair outcome under the specific circumstances."

What is clostebol?

Clostebol is an anabolic steroid that can be used to build muscle mass and enhance athletic performance.

It has been on Wada's list of prohibited substances since 2004.

Clostebol is an active ingredient in a dermatological cream or spray called Trofodermin, which is used to treat skin abrasions, cuts and wounds and is readily available over the counter in Italy.

According to Italian law, Trofodermin packaging must have a visible symbol indicating the presence of a Wada-banned substance.

The ITIA described the levels found in Sinner's sample as "low". His lawyers said it amounted to "less than a billionth of a gram".

What was Sinner's explanation?

The investigation accepted Sinner had been inadvertently contaminated with clostebol by his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi.

Sinner's team successfully argued Naldi had been applying Trofodermin - given to him by Sinner's fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara, who is a qualified pharmacist - to a cut on his own hand.

Naldi then carried out massage treatments on the player without gloves and the substance was transferred.

The ITIA's scientific experts agreed this was plausible.

Sinner had praised the professionalism of Naldi and Ferrera before announcing - shortly after the story became public - he was no longer "confident" working with them because of their "mistakes".

Why was Sinner allowed to continue playing?

Sinner was immediately given a provisional ban after each failed test, per ITIA rules.

The bans were lifted after one day and three days respectively because he successfully appealed against the decision.

The ability of Sinner's lawyers to react quickly, appealing on the same day they were informed of the failed tests, enabled him to carry on playing.

Sinner, who has won over £29m in career prize money and earned lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike and Gucci, has the benefit of being able to afford specialist legal representation - unlike many other players in similar situations.

Has Sinner been treated differently?

Questions have also been raised about the speed of the resolution and how the case was kept under wraps.

In terms of the speed of the process, Sinner admitted guilt and provided evidence which convinced the panel he had not doped intentionally.

That makes this case more straightforward to deal with. As soon as the panel accepted his explanation, he was able to continue playing.

Privacy was ensured, as per ITIA rules, once the provisional ban was lifted.

"The way we manage cases does not change, irrespective of the profile of the player involved," said ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse.

"The way a case unfolds is determined by its unique circumstances, facts and science."

How has the tennis world reacted?

Before the three-month ban was announced, several of Sinner's peers questioned the handling of the case, while there was support for him from others.

Men's record 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic said: "Whatever's going to happen, I just wish for it to be resolved as soon as possible. This whole case is not helping our sport at all."

Australian former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios - himself a polarising figure - has been a leading critic, and Britain's Liam Broady was left "wondering about a lot of the things" in Sinner's story.

Tara Moore, a British player provisionally banned for two years while challenging a doping charge of which she was eventually cleared, suggested top players are "treated differently".

There have also been calls for greater "consistency" from both Djokovic and Roger Federer in the way every case - regardless of a player's ranking or wealth - is dealt with.

Norway's two-time major finalist Casper Ruud concluded there is "no discrimination" in favour of Sinner if "you have read the documents", while leading coach Dani Vallverdu said it "must be an absolute nightmare" for Sinner.