From Novak Djokovic’s point of view, a majority of tennis professionals have lost confidence in the anti-doping system after Jannik Sinner’s fall. There is a feeling of a preferred treatment, said the record-Grand Slam champion at the tournament in Doha in Catar.
“A majority of the players think that it is not fair. A majority of the players think that there is preference, ”said the 37 -year -old Serb after the lock of Sinner for three months. “It seems that you can almost influence the outcome if you are a top player when you have access to top lawyers.”
Sinner closed until the beginning of May
Today’s world ranking Sinner was tested positively in March 2024. The South Tyrolean had stated that the forbidden agent closebol had reached his body over the hands of a supervisor during a massage. The responsible tennis agency ITIA saw no deliberate fault and no negligence and waived a lock. In contrast, the WELT-Anti-doping agency Wada performed.
On Saturday it became known that Sinner agreed to a three -month lock with the Wada. The 23 -year -old is not allowed to play tournaments by May 4th – the lock ends in good time in front of the French Open, which begins on May 25th in Paris.
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Djokovic: Many conversations in the changing room
“It is not a good picture for our sport, that’s sure. There are a majority of players with whom I spoke in the changing room – not only in the past few days, but also for the past few months – who have not been happy how the entire process has been dealt with, ”said Djokovic. “There is currently a lack of trust from both male and female tennis professionals towards Wada and ITIA and the entire process.”
Also in the focus of Iga Swiatek
In the case of the world ranking second IGA Swiatek, there had been allegations of lack of transparency. The Polish was closed for a month last year. According to ITIA, Swiatek was tested positively for the forbidden substance trimetacid. The former number one explained this with a medication that was not prescribed against the consequences of jet lag. The contamination of this medication has led to a positive test result.
Djokovic emphasized that he did not question the innocence of Sinner and Swiatek. However, he asked the sports institutions to revise the process for the treatment of doping cases, “because the system and the structures obviously do not work”.