Jannik Sinner’s nomination for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award has been withdrawn following a three-month doping ban.
The world number one accepted the ban earlier this month after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over two positive drug tests from last year.
The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open in January, is suspended from February 9 until May 4.
Laureus World Sports Academy chairman Sean Fitzpatrick explained, “After discussions within the Academy, it has been decided to withdraw Jannik Sinner’s nomination for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award this year.
We have followed the case and the decisions made by the relevant global bodies, and while we acknowledge the extenuating circumstances, we feel that the three-month ban makes the nomination ineligible.
Jannik and his team have been informed.”
Previously, Sinner had been cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol in March.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) determined that Sinner had been inadvertently contaminated by his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, with the anabolic steroid.
WADA initially sought a ban of up to two years, but later reached a settlement after acknowledging that Sinner’s contamination was unintentional and that he did not intend to cheat.
The nominees for the Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced on March 3.
