Novak Djokovic gives brutally honest response to how tennis players really feel about Jannik Sinner ban

Novak Djokovic has called for an urgent review into Tennis’ anti-doping system.

It comes after world No.1 Jannik Sinner was banned for three months after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Sinner, who recently picked up the first Grand Slam success over the year with victory at the Australian Open, will return to tennis ahead of the French Open in May.

The Italian admitted partial responsibility for the mistakes that led to him testing positive for traces of clostebol last March.

Last year, former women’s No.1 Iga Swiatek was given a one-month ban after testing positive for trimetazidine caused by contamination of a medicine she was taking to combat jetlag.

The bans have become a huge topic of discussion among fans and now it appears that players have drawn their own conclusions on it.

Speaking about the suspensions ahead of this week’s Qatar Open, Djokovic claims that tennis stars feel that favouritism is apparent when the top players are slapped with bans.

“It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,” Djokovic said. “The majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening. It seems like 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.

“Swiatek and Sinner are innocent and it’s proven, unless it’s proven otherwise. So, right now we know they’re innocent.

“We’ve seen on social media, 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 gotten the ban for years.”

Halep was initially handed a whopping four-year suspension in 2022 after returning a positive test which was later reduced to nine months.

British player Moore was also given a ban in 2022 which was later overturned after a tribunal found that contaminated meat was the cause of the banned substances she tested positive for.

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On Monday, Moore posted on X: “I don’t think any of this was Sinner’s fault. I’m simply asking that everyone get the same treatment. I hope his case will further improve the conditions in which players are treated and will be a precedent for future cases’ timelines.”

Discussing whether the processes around anti-doping require a review, Djokovic added: “I think right now it’s a ripe time for us to really address the system, because the system and the structure obviously doesn’t work with anti-doping.

“It’s obvious. So, I hope that in the next period of the near future that the governing bodies are going to come together with our Tours and the tennis ecosystem and try to find a more effective way to deal with these processes.”

Djokovic’s comments were echoed by Nick Kyrgios who took to social media at the weekend to express his disappointment at the Sinner ruling.

He posted on X: “So WADA came out and said it would be a 1-2 year ban.

“Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3 month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.”

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He later added: “I know a lot of players that are feeling the same way at the moment. So he was found guilty – hence the ban. But didn’t get stripped of anything and can play the French. Sad sad sad day.”

Meanwhile, Britain’s Liam Broady told the BBC that the timing of the ban appeared to be favourable for the Italian.

“I do think a lot has been put into when the ban would take place, to impact Jannik’s career as little as possible,” Broady said.

“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 points or his No. 1 spot either, so it’s an interesting ban.”