the essential
At a press conference in Brisbane (Australia) this Sunday, December 29, the Serbian returned to the recent cases of doping in Tennis, regretting a lack of transparency and raising differences in treatment depending on the players.
It's not just on the court that Novak Djokovic will join Nick Kyrgios. Partner of the Australian in doubles for the Brisbane tournament which begins in a few days, the former world number 1 in turn spoke out on the issue of doping this Sunday, December 29. And if he was not as virulent as his teammate, he was also very critical of the management of the recent scandals which affected the world of tennis.
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“I think Nick has valid points when it comes to transparency and inconsistency of protocols and case-by-case comparisons,” Djokovic said in reference to the Australian's statements. If he reiterated his belief in Jannik Sinner's innocence, he explained that he was “very frustrated, like most of the other players, to have been kept in the dark for five months”.
Beyond this lack of transparency, Djokovic questioned the differences in treatment depending on the status of the players. “I'm just wondering about the way the system works. Why aren't some players treated the same as others? Maybe there are ranking reasons behind it, or maybe be that others have more financial backing behind them or stronger legal teams.”
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Comments which echo those made several months ago by Simona Halep, suspended for four years for a positive test before her sanction was reduced to nine months in March 2024. The Romanian had denounced an “injustice” regarding the treatment of the Sinner and Swiatek cases: “ Why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgment? I don't find and I don't think there can be a logical answer.”
