Jannik Sinner may be banned from playing at Wimbledon next year if he is hit with a suspension following an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), according to reports.
The 23-year-old tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, in March but an independent panel accepted his explanation that it entered his body from a massage with his physio, who had used it to treat a cut on his own finger.
WADA have appealed the decision to clear Sinner, calling for the Italian to be handed a suspension of up to two years. They are not seeking disqualification of any results, though, meaning Sinner would keep all of the titles he won in 2024.
The hearing is not expected to take place before February, according to Tennis365, which will allow Sinner to play at the Australian Open in January.
However, there is a possibility that he will be banned from the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, which would see him tumble down the rankings due to inactivity.
It remains to be seen if the WADA appeal will be successful, with the case set to be heard before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at some point before the French Open gets underway in June.
Sinner will be hopeful of avoiding a ban following comments made by WADA director general Oliver Niggli, who suggested the increased number of high-profile cases may be down to improvements in testing, rather than a major doping problem in tennis.
“There are no more [doping cases] than before, but laboratories are more efficient in detecting infinitesimal quantities of doping substances,” said Niggli.
“We will have to open a working table to understand how to manage this situation. The quantities found are so small that it is possible to become contaminated by doing even trivial things.
“I understand the public, who thinks we are naive and that we believe everything, but the reality is different. There is a problem. If we wanted to simplify our lives, we could impose new thresholds and not find all these cases.
“The real question is: Are we ready to accept microdosing? Where do we stop? With thresholds, we wouldn’t have seen all these cases.
“What we need to understand is whether we are ready to accept microdosing and where it is right to stop. A working table will be created precisely for this type of reflection.”