Before Australian Open champ Jannik Sinner can win another grand slam he has to fight a possible one-year ban for alleged doping

Jannik Sinner is again the toast of the tennis world after taking a second Australian Open, but he still has questions to answer before he can continue his grand slam march.

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner will continue to march towards a slice of tennis history undaunted by his impending hearing in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April when he will again refute any allegations of doping.

His Melbourne Park triumph over Alexander Zverev on Sunday night put Sinner, the world No.1, halfway towards joining Novak Djokovic as the only men since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four grand slam titles simultaneously, having won the US Open last year.

Burt the Italian’s participation in the next major at the French Open in May remains at the mercy of the CAS, as he is facing a potential ban of at least one year if the World Anti Doping Authority is successful in challenging a decision not to suspend Sinner for what was deemed accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid.

A toast to the best player in the world. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

That decision was made last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency and has been ridiculed by several players including Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who said the sport was “cooked” when news of Sinner’s positive test came to light before the US Open.

Sinner will faced a closed-doors hearing in Lausanne on April 16-17, but he said he was “not thinking” about it, happy to know the dates are locked in and he can again tell the world he’s innocent.

“I’m not thinking at the moment about this. I want to enjoy this moment. Then it’s the hearing. We know now the dates, and that’s’s it. We want to enjoy this,” he said after his win.

“I mean, I know what happened, no? As I always say, I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened. If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this, and that’s it.

“I mean, I still believe every time it came out in a very positive way, and I still believe it’s going to be that case.”

Sinner said he would like the issue to go away, adamant he’s done nothing wrong.

“ Of course, you have your moments of certain days where you feel like I wish I would not have this problem,” he said.

“In the other way, I’m always looking forward to go on court, trying to understand.”

Taking this trophy home for a second time feels absolutely unreal!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ To my team and all of you who’ve cheered me on from every corner of the world – thank you! Huge respect to @AlexZverev for an incredible match 🤝🏻🤝🏻🤝🏻🇦🇺 @AustralianOpenpic.twitter.com/uWwH0PRxxg

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) January 26, 2025

Having fought through some issues, which included rumours he battled pneumonia in the lead-up to the tournament, Sinner said he would take some time off before returning to the court thirsting to get better, which is ominous for his opponents.

“Now I also need my time off, which is also very important for my body and my mind. Then when I go again back on court, I try to improve,” he said.

“Honesty, having difficulties especially in the tough moments and how I handled them, I know exactly this will help me in the future.

“But I also want to enjoy this one because this one has a different feeling, has a different perspective, this trophy.

“It’s difficult to talk about the future, but this one means so much to me.”

Originally published as Before Australian Open champ Jannik Sinner can win another grand slam he has to fight a possible one-year ban for alleged doping