Jannik Sinner has been dropped from an exhibition event in Las Vegas next month while the No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player is serving a three-month ban connected to a pair of failed doping tests.

Instead of Sinner, Casper Ruud is now slated to join Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul on March 2 as part of the MGM Rewards Slam at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The switch was announced Thursday in a news release that said Sinner “will not play following his recent suspension.”

Last weekend, Sinner accepted the punishment as part of a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA had appealed a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to fully exonerate Sinner for what it deemed to be an accidental contamination; he tested positive twice in March 2024 for trace amounts of an anabolic steroid, then explained later that a cream one of his since-fired staff members purchased — and gave to another member of the entourage, who massaged Sinner — contained the banned substance clostebol.

Advertisement

Under his settlement, Sinner — a 23-year-old from Italy — will be sidelined until early May and can return to competition at the Rome Masters in his home country. The timing of the ban, which raised eyebrows among some other players, means he won’t miss a Grand Slam tournament; the next one is the French Open, which starts on May 25.

Sinner has won three of the past five major men’s singles championships — each of the past two Australian Opens, including last month, and at the U.S. Open in September.

Ruud and Zverev both have been the runner-up at majors three times. Fritz lost to Sinner in last year’s U.S. Open final. Paul’s best Grand Slam showing was reaching the semifinals.

On March 1, the top-ranked woman, Aryna Sabalenka, will play against former No. 1 Naomi Osaka in an exhibition match at the same site.

___

AP tennis: