The Laureus World Sports Academy announced on Thursday that it is withdrawing the nomination of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner for the 2025 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. This decision follows a recent three-month suspension imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Jannik Sinner hits a return during the men's singles round of 16 match between Jannik Sinner of Italy and Ben Shelton of the United States at the ATP World Tour Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)

In an email to the nominations panel, the Academy explained that, despite the "extenuating circumstances" surrounding the case, the suspension made Sinner's nomination ineligible.

Earlier this month, WADA revealed that Sinner had entered into a case resolution agreement after testing positive for clostebol in March 2024. The three-time Grand Slam winner accepted the three-month ban, acknowledging that although he did not intentionally use a prohibited substance and did not benefit from it in his performance, athletes are ultimately responsible for the actions of their support personnel. WADA deemed the three-month suspension an appropriate sanction.

The full list of nominees for the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced on March 3.