Novak Djokovic has stated that the tennis anti-doping system urgently needs a comprehensive overhaul following the treatment of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, speaking in Doha ahead of the ATP Qatar Open, pointed out the "inconsistencies" between cases involving top players and those ranked lower, highlighting a perceived bias in the system.
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03-15, 2025World No. 1 Sinner previously accepted a three-month ban, admitting his team bore "partial responsibility" for errors that led to him twice testing positive for traces of the banned steroid clostebol last March. Last year, five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek accepted a one-month ban after testing positive for the prohibited heart medication trimetazidine, raising questions about the consistency of enforcement.
However, these bans are significantly shorter than those handed to the likes of former ATP top 50 player Mikael Ymer (banned for 18 months for missing three out-of-competition tests) and Nicolas Jarry (banned for 11 months after testing positive for anabolic agents). "It's not a good image for our sport, that's for sure," Djokovic said. "Most of the players feel that there is favoritism going on. It seems that if you are a top player, if you have access to top lawyers, etc., you can almost influence the outcome."
But even among elite players, two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Simona Halep was initially banned for four years after testing positive at the 2022 US Open before being cleared to return last March. By that point, her ranking had plummeted from the top 10 to outside 1000, and she retired earlier this month at the age of 33. "Swiatek and Sinner are innocent… unless proven otherwise. So now we know that they are innocent," he said. "Sinner gets a three-month ban because of the fault and negligence of his team members that are [still] working on the Tour. That is also something that myself and many players feel is a bit strange, that there is so much inconsistency between the cases."
Djokovic went on to point out the frustrating inconsistencies where some cases are heard behind closed doors, giving players a chance to defend themselves, while others are suspended after the test result and during the case hearing. "We have to choose. This inconsistency is frustrating for all the players," he said. "If you're going to treat every case individually or independently, as is happening now, then there is no consistency, there is no transparency. Some cases are transparent, some are not." He concluded: "But the problem is there is a general lack of trust at the moment from tennis players, both male and female, towards WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) and the whole process. So either we agree that all the cases are transparent from the start, or all the cases are private until the resolution."
