Novak Djokovic expressed on Sunday his wish to see more transparency in the management of doping cases in tennis, saying that high-ranking players seemed to benefit from different treatment from those ranked lower.
The champion with 24 Grand Slam titles supported the comments of tennis player Nick Kyrgios, who denounced a lack of integrity in this sport, describing the situation as a “disaster”. The two players were referring to the doping cases involving the Italian Jannik Sinner and the Polish Iga Swiatek, both of whom were briefly suspended in 2024 before being cleared.
In March, traces of clostebol, a steroid, were detected in Sinner’s body. Although he pleaded unintentional contamination by his physiotherapist, the announcement of his case was not made public until August, shortly before the US Open, a delay that Djokovic strongly criticized.
“We were kept in the dark for five months. The ATP did not explain why this matter remained confidential for so long,” lamented the Serb.
Player Swiatek, for her part, was suspended a month after testing positive for trimetazidine in August, also attributed to contamination. These cases, associated with that of Simona Halep, former world No.1 suspended for doping, have tarnished the image of tennis, according to Djokovic.
“These situations do not project a good image of our sport,” he stressed. The 37-year-old questions the fairness of the system: “Why do some players seem to get different treatment? Is it linked to their ranking, their financial resources or the strength of their legal teams?
Djokovic also recalled that other players, less publicized, sometimes wait more than a year for their cases to be resolved. For Djokovic, a reform of protocols for managing and communicating doping cases is necessary to restore confidence and guarantee equal treatment between all players, regardless of their position in the rankings.
Sami Nemli / ECO Inspirations
