section_path: Professional career/2024: Two majors and ATP Finals titles, world No. 1, sanctions
section_name: 2024: Two majors and ATP Finals titles, world No. 1, sanctions
paragraph_text: 2024: Two majors and ATP Finals titles, world No. 1, sanctions
  
  Sinner started his year at the Australian Open, where he beat Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper de Jong, Sebastián Báez, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Rublev (all in straight sets) to reach his second major semifinal and first at the Australian Open. In the semifinals, he upset world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic to advance to his first major final, becoming the first player not to face a break point against Djokovic in a completed major match. Sinner's victory over Djokovic was the latter's first defeat at the Australian Open since 2018. Sinner became the first Italian player to reach the singles final at this major and the third man, after Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open and Matteo Berrettini at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, to reach a major final in the Open Era. In the final, he came from a two-set deficit to beat Daniil Medvedev to become the first Italian player, male or female, to win the Australian Open singles title, and the third man to win a Major (the second of which in the Open Era), and the first in 48 years. His victory over Medvedev meant he became the second player to win the Australian Open after losing the first two sets in the final, after Rafael Nadal, who also beat Medvedev in 2022.
  
  As the top seed at the Rotterdam Open, he recorded his 200th singles win in the quarterfinals, after Milos Raonic retired with a hip injury with Sinner leading by a set, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to accomplish this feat. After defeating Tallon Griekspoor in the semifinal and Alex de Minaur in the final, Sinner rose to a new career high of No. 3 in the world, becoming the highest-ranked Italian player in history. Sinner also became the first male player since Lleyton Hewitt, in 2001, to win his debut event as a major champion. At the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, with a victory over 25th seed Jan-Lennard Struff to reach the fourth round, he recorded his 17th consecutive match win, the longest ATP level streak for an Italian player in the Open Era. Sinner extended this to 19 consecutive wins (16–0 in 2024) by defeating Jiří Lehečka in the quarterfinal. Prior to his semifinal defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner had won 36 of his previous 38 matches, dating back to the 2023 China Open.
  
  In March, Sinner played in Indian Wells, defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis, Jan-Lennard Struff, Ben Shelton, and Jiří Lehečka (all in straight sets) to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets. He also played in doubles with Lorenzo Sonego, defeating Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the first round in straight sets. In the second round, they lost to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets. Later in the year, Sinner had his prize money and ranking points earned in Indian Wells forfeited by a tribunal in relation to a "no fault or negligence" anti-doping rule violation. At the 2024 Miami Open, Sinner defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the final to win his second Master’s 1000 title. As a result, he climbed to a career high (and Italian record) ranking of No. 2 in the world. Sinner improved his 2024 ATP match record to 22–1.
  
  Sinner's clay season saw his second defeat of the season, to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Monte-Carlo Masters, in April. In May, Sinner withdrew from the Madrid Masters, at the quarterfinal stage, due to a hip injury. Three days later, he withdrew from the Italian Open due to the same injury. After Novak Djokovic withdrew from the 2024 French Open on 4 June and following the conclusion of the tournament, Sinner became world No. 1 for the first time on 10 June. He became the first Italian player (male or female) to hold the top position in the rankings. Sinner lost in the semifinal to Alcaraz in five sets.
  
  At the 2024 Halle Open, Sinner defeated Tallon Griekspoor, Fábián Marozsán, Jan-Lennard Struff, Zhang Zhizhen, and Hubert Hurkacz to win his debut tournament as world No. 1, becoming just the eighth male player to achieve this feat. Sinner improved his 2024 match record to 38–3. At the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Sinner entered as the top seed in a major for the first time. He defeated Yannick Hanfmann, Matteo Berrettini, Miomir Kecmanović, and Ben Shelton, but lost to Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals in five sets, after a medical timeout for illness during the third set.
  
  On 24 July 2024, Sinner announced he would not participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics due to tonsillitis.
  
  Sinner won the 2024 Cincinnati Open, defeating Frances Tiafoe in the championship in straight sets. He also overcame Alex Michelsen, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev enroute to his victory. This marks his second 1000 masters title in the 2024 season and fifth title overall.
  
  On 20 August, an independent tribunal announced that Sinner had positive results for the banned substance clostebol in separate tests from March 2024. The tribunal accepted Sinner's explanation that the clostebol had entered his body via massages administered by his physiotherapist, who had used a treatment which contained clostebol to treat an injury on his own hands. The decision by the tribunal was to determine that Sinner bore "no fault or negligence" and no period of ineligibility would apply, but that he would forfeit prize money and ranking points earned at the Indian Wells tournament held in March. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision, and in February 2025 the appeal reached a settlement under which the positive drug tests were determined to be due to inadvertent contamination and Sinner was suspended for three months. The overall process was criticized by some active and former players.
  
  Sinner won his second major at the 2024 US Open, defeating 5th seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals, getting revenge for his previous Wimbledon loss, 25th seed Jack Draper in the semifinals, and 12th seed Taylor Fritz in the final. He became the fourth man in more than 50 years to win his first two major titles in the same season. At the post-match ceremony, Sinner dedicated his win to his aunt. At age 23, Sinner became the youngest man ever to win both hard-court majors in the same year.
  
  At the 2024 China Open, Sinner defeated Nicolas Jarry, Roman Safiullin, Jiří Lehečka, and Yunchaokete Bu to reach the final of the tournament, which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.
  
  After defeating Tomáš Machač in the 2024 Shanghai Masters semifinal, Sinner was confirmed as the year-end world No.1, becoming the first Italian player in history to achieve this ranking. Sinner then went on to win the championship against Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his third Masters 1000 title of the year, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever champion, and seventh overall title of 2024. In November, Sinner won the season's ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, by defeating Fritz. It was the first time since Ivan Lendl in 1986 in which a player won the trophy without losing any set, and the first time ever in which an Italian player won the title.
  
  He ended the 2024 season by defeating Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor in the Davis Cup final, to win Italy's second consecutive title. Sinner completed the entire season without a single straight-set defeat, becoming only the second man in the Open Era (Federer in 2005) to achieve this feat over a full year.
  
  Sinner started his year at the Australian Open, where he beat Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper de Jong, Sebastián Báez, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Rublev (all in straight sets) to reach his second major semifinal and first at the Australian Open. In the semifinals, he upset world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic to advance to his first major final, becoming the first player not to face a break point against Djokovic in a completed major match. Sinner's victory over Djokovic was the latter's first defeat at the Australian Open since 2018. Sinner became the first Italian player to reach the singles final at this major and the third man, after Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open and Matteo Berrettini at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, to reach a major final in the Open Era. In the final, he came from a two-set deficit to beat Daniil Medvedev to become the first Italian player, male or female, to win the Australian Open singles title, and the third man to win a Major (the second of which in the Open Era), and the first in 48 years. His victory over Medvedev meant he became the second player to win the Australian Open after losing the first two sets in the final, after Rafael Nadal, who also beat Medvedev in 2022.
  
  As the top seed at the Rotterdam Open, he recorded his 200th singles win in the quarterfinals, after Milos Raonic retired with a hip injury with Sinner leading by a set, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to accomplish this feat. After defeating Tallon Griekspoor in the semifinal and Alex de Minaur in the final, Sinner rose to a new career high of No. 3 in the world, becoming the highest-ranked Italian player in history. Sinner also became the first male player since Lleyton Hewitt, in 2001, to win his debut event as a major champion. At the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, with a victory over 25th seed Jan-Lennard Struff to reach the fourth round, he recorded his 17th consecutive match win, the longest ATP level streak for an Italian player in the Open Era. Sinner extended this to 19 consecutive wins (16–0 in 2024) by defeating Jiří Lehečka in the quarterfinal. Prior to his semifinal defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner had won 36 of his previous 38 matches, dating back to the 2023 China Open.
  
  In March, Sinner played in Indian Wells, defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis, Jan-Lennard Struff, Ben Shelton, and Jiří Lehečka (all in straight sets) to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets. He also played in doubles with Lorenzo Sonego, defeating Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the first round in straight sets. In the second round, they lost to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets. Later in the year, Sinner had his prize money and ranking points earned in Indian Wells forfeited by a tribunal in relation to a "no fault or negligence" anti-doping rule violation. At the 2024 Miami Open, Sinner defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the final to win his second Master’s 1000 title. As a result, he climbed to a career high (and Italian record) ranking of No. 2 in the world. Sinner improved his 2024 ATP match record to 22–1.
  
  Sinner's clay season saw his second defeat of the season, to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Monte-Carlo Masters, in April. In May, Sinner withdrew from the Madrid Masters, at the quarterfinal stage, due to a hip injury. Three days later, he withdrew from the Italian Open due to the same injury. After Novak Djokovic withdrew from the 2024 French Open on 4 June and following the conclusion of the tournament, Sinner became world No. 1 for the first time on 10 June. He became the first Italian player (male or female) to hold the top position in the rankings. Sinner lost in the semifinal to Alcaraz in five sets.
  
  At the 2024 Halle Open, Sinner defeated Tallon Griekspoor, Fábián Marozsán, Jan-Lennard Struff, Zhang Zhizhen, and Hubert Hurkacz to win his debut tournament as world No. 1, becoming just the eighth male player to achieve this feat. Sinner improved his 2024 match record to 38–3. At the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Sinner entered as the top seed in a major for the first time. He defeated Yannick Hanfmann, Matteo Berrettini, Miomir Kecmanović, and Ben Shelton, but lost to Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals in five sets, after a medical timeout for illness during the third set.
  
  On 24 July 2024, Sinner announced he would not participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics due to tonsillitis.
  
  Sinner won the 2024 Cincinnati Open, defeating Frances Tiafoe in the championship in straight sets. He also overcame Alex Michelsen, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev enroute to his victory. This marks his second 1000 masters title in the 2024 season and fifth title overall.
  
  On 20 August, an independent tribunal announced that Sinner had positive results for the banned substance clostebol in separate tests from March 2024. The tribunal accepted Sinner's explanation that the clostebol had entered his body via massages administered by his physiotherapist, who had used a treatment which contained clostebol to treat an injury on his own hands. The decision by the tribunal was to determine that Sinner bore "no fault or negligence" and no period of ineligibility would apply, but that he would forfeit prize money and ranking points earned at the Indian Wells tournament held in March. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision, and in February 2025 the appeal reached a settlement under which the positive drug tests were determined to be due to inadvertent contamination and Sinner was suspended for three months. The overall process was criticized by some active and former players.
  
  Sinner won his second major at the 2024 US Open, defeating 5th seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals, getting revenge for his previous Wimbledon loss, 25th seed Jack Draper in the semifinals, and 12th seed Taylor Fritz in the final. He became the fourth man in more than 50 years to win his first two major titles in the same season. At the post-match ceremony, Sinner dedicated his win to his aunt. At age 23, Sinner became the youngest man ever to win both hard-court majors in the same year.
  
  At the 2024 China Open, Sinner defeated Nicolas Jarry, Roman Safiullin, Jiří Lehečka, and Yunchaokete Bu to reach the final of the tournament, which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.
  
  After defeating Tomáš Machač in the 2024 Shanghai Masters semifinal, Sinner was confirmed as the year-end world No.1, becoming the first Italian player in history to achieve this ranking. Sinner then went on to win the championship against Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his third Masters 1000 title of the year, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever champion, and seventh overall title of 2024. In November, Sinner won the season's ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, by defeating Fritz. It was the first time since Ivan Lendl in 1986 in which a player won the trophy without losing any set, and the first time ever in which an Italian player won the title.
  
  He ended the 2024 season by defeating Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor in the Davis Cup final, to win Italy's second consecutive title. Sinner completed the entire season without a single straight-set defeat, becoming only the second man in the Open Era (Federer in 2005) to achieve this feat over a full year.