Jannik Sinner wins Aus Open 2025: What doping accusations the Italian faced and why was he cleared?

Jannik Sinner clinched the Australian Open 2025 title on Sunday, but his journey to the championship was not without controversy. The Italian star faced doping accusations in 2024 after reportedly testing positive for a banned substance. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to hear the case in April, leaving questions about the final outcome of the allegations. read more

Jannik Sinner clinched the Australian Open 2025 final on Sunday (26 January), beating Alexander Zverev in the final at the Rod Laver Arena. He won the final 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 against the 27-year-old German to become the most successful Italian tennis player of all time.

Another impressive aspect of Sinner’s triumphant campaign was how easily he handled the pressure of expectations and the doping scandal surrounding the 23-year-old. The defending champion hardly broke a sweat as he won his third Grand Slam trophy after dropping just two sets en route to the title.

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Whare ar the doping accusations against SInner?

The major win would also bring some temporary relief to Sinner who has a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing coming up in April after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed his acquittal by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in August 2024.

Sinner failed two drug tests in March 2024 after a banned steroid clostebol was detected in his system. The Italian tennis star then claimed innocence and said the banned substance Clostebol entered his body after a massage by his physiotherapist who had applied the Clostebol-induced spray on his fingers to treat a wound.

Sinner’s first sample that tested positive was taken at the Indian Wells tournament and the second was taken eight days later out of competition. Both tested positive.

The European tennis player, however, reached the Indian Wells semi-finals and won the Miami Open, allegedly, unaware of the positive result.

He was reportedly informed of the positive test result in April, prompting him to withdraw from the tournaments in Madrid and Rome, citing hip issues. In total, he missed 27 days of competition. During this period, Sinner and his team, including his lawyers, immediately filed an appeal to halt the automatic suspension triggered by a positive test result.

Why sinner was cleared of doping?

His appeal turned out to be successful as he was allowed to continue playing.

“ITIA today confirms that an independent tribunal convened by Sport Resolutions has ruled that Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner bears No Fault or Negligence for two Anti-Doping Rule Violations under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP),” ITIA said in August 2024.

“The player explained that the substance had entered their system as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.”

The WADA, however, appealed against the ITIA’s decision to clear Sinner, leading the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to schedule Sinner’s doping allegations hearing for 16 and 17 April.

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Sinner faces a two-year ban if WADA’s appeal turns out to be successful.

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