Novak Djokovic calls for change in clear verdict as he addresses Jannik Sinner anti-doping case
Novak Djokovic revealed he “understands the frustrations” some players have over Jannik Sinner’s anti-doping case because of the “lack of consistency.”
The tennis legend asserted that there are “a lot of issues in the system” dealing with anti-doping cases and called for “standardised and clear protocols.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed on Tuesday that Sinner had avoided a ban for failing two anti-doping tests in March as it was ruled he bore “no fault or negligence.”
The Italian star tested positive for low levels of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, on March 10 and 18 — during and after the Indian Wells Masters.
Sinner received an automatic provisional suspension for each test, but he was allowed to continue playing after swiftly appealing to an independent tribunal for both instances.
The ITIA accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his system “as a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray (available in Italy) containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.”
US Open News
Speaking in his US Open pre-tournament press conference, Djokovic sent a clear message as he shared his thoughts on the Sinner saga.
“As far as Jannik’s case, you know, as I said, these kind of instances are the very reason that why we founded PTPA, that is always advocating for fair protocols, clear protocols for standardised approaches to these kind of cases,” said the world No 2.
“I understand the frustration of the players is there because of lack of consistency. As I understood, his case was cleared the moment basically it was announced. But, you know, I think five or six months passed since the news was brought to him and his team.
“So, yeah, there is a lot of issues in the system. We see lack of standardised and clear protocols. I can understand the sentiments of a lot of players that are questioning whether they are treated the same.
“Hopefully the governing bodies of our sport will be able to learn from this case and have a better approach for the future. I think collectively there has to be a change, and I think that’s obvious.
“Many players — without naming any of them — I’m sure you know already who these players are, have had similar or same, pretty much the same cases, where they haven’t had the same outcome.
“And now the question is whether it is a case of the funds, whether a player can afford to pay a significant amount of money for a law firm that would then more efficiently represent his or her case. I don’t know. Is that a case or not?
“That’s something really I feel like we have to collectively investigate more, to look into the system and understand how these cases don’t happen, meaning not the case itself, but how we can standardise everything so that every player, regardless of his ranking or status or profile, is able to get the same kind of treatment.
“So, yeah, I would say that’s probably the overall, I guess, my opinion and observation of this entire case of what we have been reading and observing and talking about the last few days.”
Sinner and Djokovic are the top two seeds at the 2024 US Open and could meet in the final.
