Top tennis player Jannik Sinner will appear before the highest sports court in April after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which aims to exclude him from sports for at least a year.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Friday that it had scheduled a closed-door hearing for April 16-17 at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
CAS did not provide a timetable for its verdict, although the parties could have asked for a quick decision before the start of the French Open on May 25.
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WADA is questioning last year’s decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency not to suspend Sinner for accidental contamination with a banned anabolic steroid last March. Sinner’s explanation was accepted that the trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample resulted from a massage performed by a coach who used the substance after cutting his own finger.
Sinner won the US Open in September after details of his case were revealed. This information had been kept secret since April as Sinner successfully appealed against the interim ban.
The 23-year-old Italian faced skepticism from other players, including Novak Djokovic, who suggested that tennis authorities were giving him preferential treatment.
Repeated questioning on the matter has followed Sinner this week in Melbourne, where he prepares to defend his Australian Open title.
WADA asked CAS to suspend Sinner for a period of one to two years.
