Jannik Sinner

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner will go to sport’s highest court in April for the World Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal that seeks to ban him from the sport for at least one year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Friday it scheduled a closed-doors hearing on April 16-17 at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

WADA is challenging a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend Sinner for what it judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March. 

Sinner, who won the U.S. Open in September after details of his case were revealed, is in Melbourne preparing to defend his Australian Open title.