World number one Jannik Sinner has reacted to his three-month doping ban from tennis by calling it unfair, as he maintained his innocence.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) reached a settlement with the 23-year-old Italian after he accepted a ban in February following his two positive drugs tests last year.
Wada acknowledged Sinner did not gain any competitive advantage from the banned substance, and that he bore no fault for an accidental contamination.
Read also: Doping: WADA defends Jannik Sinner’s three-month ban
In an interview with Sky Sports on Saturday, Sinner said he accepted the ban, even though he “wasn’t really in agreement” because he had to “choose the least worst option.”
Sinner, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, was handed a suspension from 9 February until 4 May.
He will be eligible to play at the French Open – the next Grand Slam of the year – which starts on 19 May.
“What I’ve been through is a bit unfair but if we look at the situation it could have gone a lot worse,” said Sinner, who was speaking in his first interview since the ban.
Read also: Jannik Sinner accepts 3-month ban for doping violation
“After we made the decision it took me a bit of time to refind my feet. I know what happened and I know that I’m innocent.”
Despite being off the courts since he won the Australian Open earlier this year, Sinner is still top of the ATP Tour’s world rankings with Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev unable to capitalise on his absence.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is set to make his competitive return on clay at the Rome Masters, which gets underway on May 7.
