Jannik Sinner, the men’s world No 1, has been banned from tennis for three months in a settlement of his doping case.

The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open in Melbourne last month, will now be suspended from the sport until 4 May. He will be eligible to play in the year’s next grand slam, the French Open, which starts on 19 May at Roland Garros.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) had challenged a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend Sinner for what it judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March. Sinner’s explanation – that trace amounts of clostebol in his doping sample were caused by a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger – was accepted.

Wada accepts that Sinner “did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage”. The statement added: “However, under the code and by virtue of [court of arbitration for sport (Cas)] precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome.”

Wada has formally withdrawn its appeal to Cas after reaching the settlement. The case was set to be heard in April.

“This case had been hanging over me now for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year,” Sinner said in his own statement. “I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realize Wada’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted Wada’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three-month sanction.”

On Friday, Sinner had posted a video on Instagram of himself training in Doha at the Qatar Open, which starts next week. The earliest he could return is at his home tournament, the Italian Open in Rome, which starts on 7 May.

The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation president, Angelo Binaghi, declared that while the case was “a shameful injustice”, the ban will mark “the end of a nightmare” for Sinner. Binaghi added that the settlement “demonstrates Jannik’s innocence” and that “all of Italy” will welcome him back at the Italian Open.

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Sinner is the second high-ranking player to agree a doping ban in recent months after world No 2 Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November, having tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ). The Pole had been provisionally suspended from 12 September until 4 October, missing three tournaments as a result, while she also forfeited prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the event directly following the test.

Australian player Nick Kyrgios, who had said the two doping incidents were “disgusting” for the sport, said it was a “sad day for tennis” after several other players received longer bans for similar positive tests. “Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a three-month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost,” Kyrgios wrote on social media platform X. “Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”

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