Novak Djokovic has expressed concerns that favouritism is undermining the integrity of tennis’ anti-doping system, following Jannik Sinner’s recent three-month suspension.
On Saturday, it was announced that the world No. 1, Sinner, has accepted a ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that will be effective from February 9 until May 4, 2025.
This decision comes as a resolution to an ongoing case in tennis that has persisted for several months, stemming from Sinner’s two positive tests for the prohibited substance Clostebol in March of 2024, after his victory at the 2025 Australian Open.
He previously avoided suspension when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, but WADA later lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
That led to Sinner’s ongoing ban being announced last week, but the three-time grand slam champion will still be eligible to compete at the French Open, the next grand slam on the tennis calendar.
“It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,” Djokovic told a news conference ahead of his first-round match at the Qatar Open.
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“I would say a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room – not just in the last few days but also the last few months – are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled.
“The majority of the players don’t feel that it’s fair. The majority of the players feel like there is favoritism happening. And it appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot.”
Speaking to BBC Sport on Monday, British tennis player, Liam Broady said that he felt the ban was intended to “impact Jannik’s career as little as possible,” adding: “The ban ends the day before the Rome Masters, which is the biggest tournament in his home country and the perfect preparation for him to then go and play the French Open.
“I don’t think he loses any (ranking) points or his number one spot either, so it’s an interesting ban. I was speaking to some people earlier and they said it’s kind of like a Premier League footballer being banned over the summer (when they don’t play). It’s a difficult one.”
