Behind the scenes of the tennis settlement: How Jannik Sinner reached an agreement with WADA
In response, WADA, headed by Witold Bańka, soon referred the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in January, demanding a harsher penalty for the Italian – a ban of one to two years. The decision was to be made by mid-April. The Italian accepted the penalty before the tribunal ruled on the Agency's appeal.
The agreement was signed on February 14, as Sinner was preparing to play in the Qatar Open. The suspension began on February 9, 2025, until 11:59 p.m. on May 4, 2025. The Italian will be eligible to play in front of his home crowd in the tournament in Rome, and then in the second Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros.
Jannik Sinner felt innocent and did not want to negotiateWADA never questioned the ITIA ruling that the banned substance was knowingly used by the tennis player. However, it could not agree that Sinner "suffered no sanction" because, in the light of anti-doping law, "the athlete is also responsible for the activities of his environment". With such an interpretation, he could face a penalty of one to two years' suspension.
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The lawyers for the winner of three Grand Slam tournaments received two proposals. Sinner himself did not agree to the first one, considering the previous decision of the ITIA as final. He felt completely innocent and saw no justification for being suspended.
Singer, however, told the BBC that he had been trying to convince his client to start negotiations "because you don't know what will happen if WADA goes to court and what the judges will say." He was realistically facing a one-year ban. The lawyer concluded that "in the end, a three-month ban wouldn't be so bad."
RP
