Jannik Sinner: Nick Kyrgios says three-month ban given to rival after doping case shows ‘fairness in tennis doesn’t exist’

Nick Kyrgios says the leniency of a three-month ban given to world No 1 Jannik Sinner after two positive drug tests in 2024 has shown that “fairness in tennis doesn’t exist”.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with Sinner over a three-month suspension, which will allow the Italian to return in time for the next Grand Slam – the French Open – which starts on May 25.

Sinner, who last month retained his Australian Open title to claim his third Grand Slam triumph, tested positive in March 2024 for the anabolic steroid clostebol, before being cleared in August by an independent tribunal that determined he was not to blame.

WADA appealed against that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September and a subsequent hearing had been set for April 16 and 17, at which the agency had said it would seek a ban of between one and two years for Sinner.

The Italian has accepted a period of ineligibility that suspends him from playing from February 9 until May 4, and said on Saturday via a statement that he had made the decision because he realises “WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love”.

Kyrgios, a 2022 Wimbledon finalist who has been critical of the handling of the case since it became public, reacted to the agreement via his X account on Saturday.

He wrote: “So WADA come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban. Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3 month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”

In a separate post, he added: “I know a lot of players that are feeling the same way at the moment.

“So he was found guilty – hence the ban. But didn’t get stripped of anything and can play the French. Sad sad sad day.”

Sky Sports News has contacted WADA for comment on Kyrgios’ posts on social media.

In a case presented by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the banned substance entered his body as a result of a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on their finger.

Sinner subsequently fired physio Giacomo Naldi and his trainer Umberto Ferrara, who Sinner said had supplied Naldi with the over-the-counter spray.

However, WADA appealed to CAS and the saga had been set to continue until the agreement brought it to a sudden conclusion.

In a statement released on Saturday, WADA explained that it continues to believe Sinner did not intend to cheat but that he was responsible for his entourage’s negligence.

The statement said: “WADA accepts the athlete’s explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision. WADA accepts that Mr 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.

“However, under the code and by virtue of 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.”

In a statement shared with Sky Sports News by his lawyers, Sinner said: “This case had been hanging over me 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.

“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise 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.”

Although Sinner was required to forfeit his 400 ranking points from the tournament he tested positive at, Indian Wells – and prize money of $325,000 – he was able to continue competing and went on to win the US Open in September 2024 and Australian Open in January 2025.

WADA reiterated that it was not seeking the “disqualification of any results” aside from the Indian Wells ruling that had previously been made.

Sinner will miss four ATP Masters 1000 events – Indian Wells and Miami in March, along with Monte Carlo and Madrid in April. He will be eligible to return at his home event, the Masters 1000 in Rome on May 7.

Henman: ‘Convenient’ Sinner settlement leaves a ‘sour taste’

Former British No 1 and Sky Sports Tennis pundit Tim Henman said the agreement “seems a little bit too convenient” and “leaves a pretty sour taste for the sport”.

Sinner’s doping case has played out alongside another for women’s world No 1 Iga Swiatek, which saw the five-time winner serve a one-month suspension after testing positive for heart medication trimetazidine in August 2024.

In Swiatek’s case, WADA chose not to lodge an appeal against the ITIA ruling.

Henman told Sky Sports News: “Two of the best players in the world, one in the men’s, one in the women’s, have had drug cases. With Sinner’s, I want to start off first and foremost by saying I don’t think in any way he has been trying to cheat at any stage. I don’t believe that.

“However, when I read this statement this morning, it just seems a little bit too convenient. It seems that there’s words like ‘agreement’, and it almost seems like there’s been a negotiation.

“And obviously, having just won the Australian Open, to miss three months of the Tour and therefore be eligible to play at Roland Garros, the timing couldn’t have been any better for Sinner.

“But I still think it leaves a pretty sour taste for the sport. I’m sure we’ll understand a little bit more because it is such a fresh story. But it’s just a bit too convenient for me right now.

“I think when you’re dealing with drugs in sport, it very much has to be black and white. It’s binary, it’s positive or negative, it’s you’re banned or you’re not banned.

“And I think that’s when you start reading words like ‘settlement’ or ‘agreement’, it feels like there’s been a negotiation and I don’t think that will sit well with certainly the player cohort and the fans of the sport.”