'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will serve a three-month suspension after coming to an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as announced by the organization on Saturday, February 15. He had initially tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol twice last year during the Indian Wells Masters.
According to Sinner, the substance entered his body after his physio treated him with a contaminated batch of medicine. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) was satisfied with his explanation, and while he was docked some prize money and points, he wasn't banned for the same.
However, WADA announced its intention to contest ITIA's decision last year, and now the drawn-out saga has finally come to an end. Sinner was by far the best player on the tour over the past few months, and enters the ban on a 21-match winning streak. As he continues to serve his ban, here are the answers to some pertinent questions arising from his absence:
Trending
When will Jannik Sinner return to the tour?
Sinner's suspension commenced on February 9, and will continue until May 4. During this time frame, he will miss a total of six tournaments, including four Masters 1000 tournaments- the Indian Wells Masters, the Miami Open, the Monte-Carlo Masters, and the Madrid Open. He already missed the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam earlier this month.
The Italian stated that he needed to rest for a while after a successful title defense at the Australian Open, and opted to miss the ABN AMRO Open. He was the defending champion there as well. He was set to compete in the upcoming Qatar Open in Doha starting on Monday, February 17, and had already arrived at the venue for the same.
The ban will end just in time for Sinner to participate in the Italian Open, his home tournament, which will begin on May 7. An injury forced him to give it a miss last year, and that won't be the case this time as he will be well-rested for the same. His best result in Rome has been a quarterfinal showing in 2022.
Will Jannik Sinner participate in the French Open?
With Sinner's suspension lifting on May 4, he will be free to participate in all tournaments after that, including the French Open. The season's second Major will run from May 25 to June 8. Compared to his peers, he won't have a lot of prep heading into Paris.
While most of his contemporaries will participate in three to four tournaments prior to the French Open, he will get to compete in only one tournament due to his ban. As mentioned above, he will be eligible to compete in the Italian Open, and it will be his only warm-up tournament before the clay court Major.
Sinner registered his best result at the French Open a year ago. He advanced to the semifinals there for the first time in his career. Up against his arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the title round, he led the Spaniard by two sets to one before losing the match in five sets.
Having already won the Australian Open and the US Open, Sinner is now halfway towards a Career Grand Slam. A title at the French Open would put him another step closer towards achieving the feat, and also tie Alcaraz's haul of four Major titles at the same time.
How many ranking points will Jannik Sinner lose as a result of his ban?
Sinner is currently ranked No. 1 with 11,830 ranking points to his name. He's going to lose 500 points when the rankings are updated on Monday, February 17, for not defending his title in Rotterdam. He's also set to miss four Masters 1000 tournaments while he serves his suspension.
Sinner participated in all four tournaments that he's going to miss, so he's going to drop quite a few points. He advanced to the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters and the Monte-Carlo Masters, and that's going to cost him a combined 800 points. He's also the defending champion at the Miami Open, so that's another 1,000 points gone up in smoke.
He reached the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, and that will be another 200 points off from his overall tally. He's going to drop a total of 2,500 points while he serves his ban, and once he returns to the tour, he will have 9,330 points to his name.
As a result, Sinner's position at the top of the rankings could be in jeopardy. Alexander Zverev and Alcaraz, ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, could dislodge him from the top spot if either of them performs exceedingly well in these four tournaments.
Sinner captured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time on the heels of his semifinal finish at last year's French Open. He has held on to the top spot since then, and has tallied 36 weeks and counting at the top since then. He will cross 50 weeks as the top-ranked player while he serves his ban.
