Twice in March 2024, minute traces of clostebol (steroid) were found in Sinner’s body, who was briefly suspended each time. But the Italian pleaded ignorance and above all contamination, and was completely cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) before the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed.
A few months after Sinner, the Polish Iga Swiatek, current No.2, was also suspended for a month for doping after the discovery in August of trimetazidine in her body. Here too, the ITIA accepted the contamination excuse.
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Different treatment for the top ranked at the ATP and the WTA?
According to Djokovic, 37, who will play doubles with Kyrgios at the Brisbane tournament this week, top players like Sinner and Swiatek are treated differently from those who occupy a lower position in the ATP and WTA rankings.
“I think Nick has valid points regarding transparency and inconsistency of protocols and case-by-case comparisons,” the Serbian stressed. “We have players who have been waiting for more than a year for their cases to be resolved,” he recalled.
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If Djokovic said he believed Sinner when he said he tested positive for the steroid clostebol following contamination by his physiotherapist, he said he “was very frustrated, like most of the other players, to have been required in the dark for five months,” he said.
“(Sinner) received the news (of the positive tests) in April and the announcement wasn’t made until August, right before the US Open. The ATP hasn’t really spoken in depth about the reasons for which she kept this matter away from the public,” he lamented.
“Then we had the case of (Simona) Halep and that of Swiatek on the WTA circuit and it is not a good image for our sport,” he explained, referring to the case of the Romanian, former world No.1, initially suspended for four years in 2022 for a positive test and an irregularity in her biological passport, sanction reduced to nine months in March 2024.
“I just question how the system works,” Djokovic added. “Why aren’t some players treated the same as others? Maybe there are ranking reasons behind it, or maybe others have more financial backing behind them or stronger legal teams.”
