Jannik Sinner "knows he's done absolutely nothing wrong", says lawyer

That is according to his lawyer Jamie Singer, who has given more insight into talks with WADA that led to the case being settled ahead of their tribunal hearing.

The world No. 1 twice tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol in March last year and he was provisionally suspended before his lawyers successfully argued his case and he was allowed to continue playing.

In August the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared Sinner of any wrongdoing as they accepted his explanation that the substance entered his system when his physiotherapist - who used a product containing clostebol - gave him a message.

But the World Anti-Doping Agency then appealed the decision as they felt despite the Italian bearing "no fault or negligence" he should still have been banned and they demanded a suspension of between one and two years.

The case was set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration in Sport for April, but the parties reached an agreement on 14 February and details were made public the following day.

A statement read: "The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that it has entered into a case resolution agreement in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, with the player accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation that led to him testing positive for clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024."

Many believe it was a good deal for Sinner, but the three-time Grand Slam winner wasn't initially too keen on settling with WADA.

In an extensive interview with BBC Sport, Singer said it was "quite tricky" to persuade him to take the offer.

"When I was saying 'well, look, maybe we should settle for three months', he was saying 'well, why would we do that if the first independent tribunal found it was no ban at all, why would I accept three months now?'" Singer said.

"My advice was 'one never knows what's going to happen at a hearing, we know that WADA are pushing for a year, if we don't accept their offer then they will go to court looking for a year and who knows what those three judges could do'.

"So the possibility of three months, in my view, was a good possibility."

Sinner won't miss any Grand Slams as he will be able to return to action on 4 May, just ahead of the Italian Open with the French Open starting later in the month.

The timing certainly worked well for the 23-year-old, but Singer insisted they had no input on the date of the ban.

"We can't get away from the fact that you can't choose when these things happen," he explained.

"So the fact that WADA approached us and in the next three months there are no Grand Slams, that seemed to me to make their offer more compelling."

Several current and former players have lashed out at the agreement with the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka and Marion Bartoli all criticising the decision.

But Sinner remains unperturbed, according to Singer.

"Jannik is a very resilient young man, and in his own mind he knows he's done absolutely nothing wrong and the process has been absolutely by the book. So I think he's very comfortable in himself," he said.

"He keeps off social media where there are an awful lot of people with a platform, and who don't necessarily know the facts of the case, or investigate the facts of the case as much as they might do."

And while some were surprised that WADA offered to settle, the organisation has made it clear that they have reached 67 agreements since 2021.

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