The Court of Arbitration for Sport is due to rule in April on doping charges against tennis world number one Jannik Sinner.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will have a hearing on doping charges before the Court of Arbitration for Sport on April 16-17, the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Friday.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acquitted Sinner last March after he twice tested positive for the banned steroid clotidol, and WADA appealed.

“No party has requested a public hearing, which will be held behind closed doors,” CAS said in a statement.

The ITIA accepted defending Australian Open champion Sinner’s explanation that the drug entered his system when his physio used a spray containing the drug to treat a cut and then provided the player with massage and exercise therapy.

Asked on the eve of the Australian Open if he knew when the ruling was due, the 23-year-old said: “I know as much as you know.

“We’re at a stage where we don’t know many, many things.”

Sinner faces a tough first-round test against Chilean Nicolas Jarry at Melbourne Park and admits the scandal still haunts him.

“Of course, you have to think about that,” he said. “I’d be lying if I told you I forgot.

“This is something I’ve carried with me for a long time. But it is what it is. I’m here to prepare for a Grand Slam. Let’s see how it goes.”

Sinner said he has been “very, very careful about every medication I take and even what I eat.”

“When the bottle is opened, I throw it away and get a new one,” he said.

“In my mind, I knew exactly what was happening and that’s how I stopped it.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m still here. That’s why I’m still playing.”

ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi insisted Sinner’s case was “by the book.”

“I sincerely believe there’s a lot of misinformation out there, which is unfortunate,” Gaudenzi told Australia’s Associated Press in a recent interview.

“I’m 100 percent sure there was no preferential treatment. The process was by the book and by the rules by ITIA.”

Former world number one Novak Djokovic said he believed Sinner when he said he had tested positive for the infection, but the 24-time Grand Slam winner insisted the player was involved throughout the process Zhongdu was “kept in the dark”.

“Like most other players, I’m really frustrated that we’ve been kept in the dark for five months,” Djokovic said.

“He (Sinner) received the news (of the positive test) in April and it wasn’t announced until just before the U.S. Open in August.

“The ATP didn’t really discuss in depth why they didn’t disclose the case to the public.”