Top-ranked Jannik Sinner gets three-month ban in settlement of doping case

Tennis has the slackest doping controls of any major sport. And then when they catch someone like Sinner, they "believe" the most ridiculous explanation.

*Clostebol (4-chloro-testosterone; 4-chloro-4-androsten-17-ol-3-one) is an anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) derivative from testosterone. *

How convenient - his Oh No big ban slots in perfectly between Grand Slams.

Is that why this wasn't dealt with last year like the majority of doping suspect cases in a short time?

Let's wait until after the Aust Open where he's favorite, and then give him 3 months off to prepare for the next grand slam in France, also allowing him to prep by warming up at his local Italian Open.

Nice eh?

The inconsistency in bans issued out to others is the real sticking point, together with the notion that a ban can be negotiated.

I think ATP & WTA want to protect their top players image as doping takes a shine off big sports.

Tennis is a business, Sinner and Italy are important to this business, let there be doubt.

Sinner’s explanation — that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger — had been accepted.

This makes no sense, the mechanism seems extremely implausible, but if this was accepted as valid then there should be no ban at all. At the end this seems much more just a compromise to let him compete soon even after evidence of doping was found.

Look up the Dr Fuentes case. Operation Puerto. They busted the cyclists, but not the Spanish soccer team or "top level tennis player from Majorca". I wonder who that may have been? LOL

No doubt Nadal was on roids, 22 French Open, his final major, he was even open about it, taking injections specifically banned in cycling. Even cycling community was upset, since then, tennis has taken a harder stance, and Nadal was not surprisingly never the same again because such injections were no longer allowed.

Djoker and Fed were clean, Nadal now very bald with a variety of health issues, typical side effects of roids use.

Sinner better not clown around anymore.

A despicable arrangement between a dope sinner and a corrupt agency which has lost all credibility. As has the player.

when you are innocent, you don’t make a deal. You stay the course.

he must get 2 years suspension. No deals, no negotiations, no “ best interest” compromise.

Yep, the ban ends just in time for the run-up to Roland Garros.