Jannik Sinner adds new tournament to his schedule ahead of return from doping ban

The three-time Grand Slam winner is currently serving a three-month suspension following his positive tests for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024.

Although he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency and initially allowed to continue playing, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed against the decision in September last year.

WADA initially wanted a ban of between 12 months and 24 months, but they later reached an agreement with Sinner's legal representative and it was decided he would be suspended from 9 February until 4 May.

The Italian - who has played only one tournament so far in 2025 as he successfully defended his Australian Open title - has already missed the Qatar Open and the Indian Wells Open while he will also be absent at this week's Miami Open and the upcoming Monte Carlos Masters, Barcelona Open and the Madrid Open.

His first event back will be on home soil as he is set to play at the Italian Open.

That was initially set to be his only tournament before the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, but Sinner has now added the Hamburg European Open with the ATP 500 event taking place from 18-24 May.

The top players often skip the tournaments the week before a Grand Slam, but Sinner's team will no doubt feel he will be undercooked for Roland Garros if he only plays one event in Rome after completing his suspension.

It will be Sinner's debut at the clay-court tournament with the German event now taking place ahead of Roland Garros unlike in previous years where it was staged after Wimbledon.

Sinner is not the only big-name player to have signed up as Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Gael Monfils will also feature.

"I'm excited to make my debut at the Hamburg Open, a tournament with a lot of history in our sport. The fans always create a fantastic atmosphere on the beautiful centre court. I'm looking forward to playing at Rothenbaum in May and can't wait to finally visit Hamburg," Sinner said in a statement.

Tournament Director Enric Molina Mur added: "The participation of Jannik Sinner, the current world No 1 and three-time Grand Slam winner, is an enormous milestone for our tournament and a historic moment. We are very proud and excited to offer our fans a true tennis festival with Jannik and all the other top players that will no doubt light up the courts."

It is the second big announcement from the Italian in the last 24 hours as on Monday it was confirmed that he will his long-term management company StarWing and will link up with AVIMA Sports & Business Management.

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