Claiming that most players on the professional tennis circuit feel Jannik Sinner is the benefactor of “favouritism” with his three-month doping ban, Novak Djokovic has said that the majority have lost faith in the anti-doping authorities. (More Tennis News)
ไThe 37-year-old Serbian legend appealed to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to overhaul their processes for dealing with doping cases “because the system and the structure obviously doesn’t work.”
🤪Speaking at the Qatar Open, the 24-time Major winner said: “Right now there is a lack of trust generally from the tennis players, both male and female, toward WADA and ITIA and the whole process.”
World number one Sinner had reached a deal꧒ with WADA on Saturday (February 15) to accept a ban that will have him back playing in time for the French Open in May 2025, without having to miss any Grand Slam tournament. The development came after the ITA had decided not to suspend Sinner for what it deemed was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March.
🉐The 23-year-old Italian arrived at a settlement with WADA over two positive drug tests in March last year. Sinner’s explanation that he was inadvertently contaminated with the banned substance clostebol by his physio was accepted by the world body, but the agency added that “the athlete bears responsibility for the entourage’s negligence”.
𝔉Sinner is therefore suspended from February 9 until May 4, meaning he will be eligible to play at the Roland Garros Major, which starts on May 19. Speaking at the Qatar Open, Djokovic said: “There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled.
💫“A majority of the players don’t feel it’s fair. A majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers.”
ღSinner’s was the first of two high-profile cases in tennis in quick succession, with the women’s world No 2, Iga Swiatek, handed a one-month suspension in November after a positive test for the angina medication trimetazidine. ITIA accepted it was caused by contamination of a medicine Swiatek was taking to help combat jet lag.
🌼On the other hand, the former world No 1 Simona Halep was given a four-year ban by ITIA in 2022 after a positive test, although it was later reduced to nine months. Meanwhile, Britain’s Tara Moore, a far less well-known player, was suspended in May 2022 while an investigation lasted 18 months before an independent tribunal determined that contaminated meat was the source of the prohibited substances for which she tested positive.
✃“Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players that are maybe less known that have been struggling to resolve their cases for years, or have got the ban for years … there is so much inconsistencies between the cases,” said Djokovic. “Sinner has got a suspension for three months because of mistakes and negligence of his team members, who are working on the tour. This is also something that I personally and many other players find strange.
⛄“Now it’s a ripe time for us to really address the system, because the system and the structure obviously doesn’t work, anti-doping, it’s obvious. I hope that in the near future the governing bodies are going to come together and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes. It’s inconsistent, and it appears to be very unfair.”
(With AP inputs)
