Djokovic says players believe there is favouritism in anti doping system

DOHA – Novak Djokovic said a majority of players believe favouritism is at play in the tennis anti-doping system, and called for it to be overhauled in the wake of cases involving world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.

Sinner on Feb 15 accepted a three-month doping ban after testing positive for anabolic agent clostebol in 2024, while women’s world No. 2 Swiatek served a one-month ban at the end of last year when the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) showed up in her test.

While Djokovic was not suggesting that either of the Grand Slam champions had intentionally done anything wrong, he did say there were inconsistencies in their treatment at the hands of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

“The two cases of Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have attracted a lot of attention and it’s not a good image for our sport,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said at the Qatar Open on Feb 17.

“There’s a majority of the players that I’ve talked to in the locker room, not just in the last few days, but also last few months, that are not happy with the way this whole process has been handled.

“A majority of the players don’t feel that (the doping process is) fair. They feel like there is favouritism happening. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers.”

Other current and former players such as Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka and Tim Henman have raised questions over Sinner’s case, with the latter suggesting that the expiration of his ban just before the Rome Masters and French Open was “too convenient”.

Djokovic, who co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) as a voice for the athletes in the game, added