Novak Djokovic says recent doping cases in tennis suggest ‘favoritism’ and are ‘not a good image for our sport’

Novak Djokovic believes that “favoritism” is damaging tennis’ anti-doping system in light of Jannik Sinner’s three-month ban.

On Saturday, it had emerged that world No. 1 Sinner accepted a ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from February 9 until May 4 to settle a case which had lingered over tennis for months after the 2025 Australian Open winner twice tested positive for banned substance Clostebol in March last year.

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.

“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.”

After his case first became public last year, Sinner revealed that his positive tests stemmed from “inadvertent contamination of Clostebol” through treatment from his physiotherapist. He said that his physiotherapist had been applying an over-the-counter spray to their own skin – not Sinner’s – to treat a small wound.

Initially avoiding suspension for the positive tests, Sinner was able to cement his position at the top of the world rankings and win grand slam titles at the 2024 US Open and this year’s Australian Open.

How tennis authorities handled the case, and also that of women’s world No. 2 Iga Świątek, has drawn criticism. Świątek accepted a one-month suspension last year after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, though the ITIA said that they found her “level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence.’”

Two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep criticized the “big difference in treatment” she received – being handed a four-year ban by the ITIA in September 2023 after testing positive for banned substance Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open – compared to Świątek. Halep maintained that her anti-doping violations were not intentional and, in March last year, CAS agreed and reduced the backdated ban to nine months, clearing her to return to the sport.

In response to Halep’s accusation of double standards, the ITIA told CNN at the time that it “deal(s) with each case based on the facts and evidence, not a player’s name, ranking or nationality.”

Halep retired from the sport earlier this month, saying that it was “very hard” to reach the high level of play she expected from herself.

“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 for anti-doping,” 24-time grand slam singles champion Djokovic said on Monday.

“The inconsistency is something that frustrates all the players,” he added. “If you’re going to treat every case individually or independently, which is what’s happening, then there is no consistency, then there is no transparency … Right now, there is a lack of trust generally from tennis players, both male and female, towards WADA and the ITIA and the whole process.”

Australian player Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, said in a post on X that he received messages from “multiple players” about “how putrid this is” after Sinner’s three-month ban was announced.

An ITIA spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday: “Each case is different, but the ITIA approaches them in the same way, irrespective of a player’s ranking or status. We understand that anti-doping is a complex and sometimes confusing topic, and commit significant time and resources into providing education and support to players to help them understand the rules and how they apply to them.

“We actively encourage players and their support staff to speak with the ITIA about any issues, concerns, or queries they have about the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.”

Sinner’s representatives declined to comment further when contacted by CNN.

“This case had been hanging over me now for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year,” Sinner said in a previous statement about the ban.

“I have always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realize WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love. On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a 3-month sanction.”

On Saturday, WADA said that it “accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit.”

In a new statement to CNN on Tuesday, it said: “WADA is satisfied that justice has been delivered in this case and that the sanction is appropriate for the violation that was committed.

“WADA is pleased to have been able to deal with this matter in an open and transparent fashion with the facts of the case available and in the public domain for people to read. The fairness delivered in this unique case (in that the sanction fits the violation) shows that the system works very well.”

CNN’s Issy Ronald, Thomas Schlachter, Matias Grez and David Close contributed to reporting.

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