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24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic on Saturday, August 24 opened up on the doping controversy that have emerged after world number one, Jannik Sinner escaped ban despite testing positive of a banned substance twice. The Serbian tennis great, who finally broke silence on Sinner’s doping controversy added that there is a need for proper protocols.
Speaking to the reporters ahead of the US Open 2024, where the tennis great will aim to defend his title, opened up in response to the announcement that the top-ranked Sinner had escaped a ban. He added that players have been bemoaned a lack of transparency in this case. “I understand the frustration of the players is there because of lack of consistency,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.
“As I understood, his case was cleared the moment basically it was announced. But, you know, I think five or six months passed since the news (of positive tests) was brought to him and his team. So, yeah, there is a lot of issues in the system. We see lack of standardized and clear protocols. I can understand the sentiments of a lot of players that are questioning whether they are treated the same,” Djokovic added.
It is to be noted that 23-year-old Italian was notified earlier this year after he had tested positive for low levels of banned anabolic agent, Clostebol. An out of competition test eight days later also returned positive. Although Sinner was provisionally suspended for several days, but the fact was not made public at that time.
Moreover, the Serbian also spoke of needing a controversial Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which he helped found to give players a greater voice. He also opined that some of these cases should be resolved with little publicly as some players have the funds to hire expensive, efficient lawyers, while a few other lack that facility.
"I don't know. Is that a case or not? That's something really I feel like we have to collectively investigate more, to look into the system and understand how these cases don't happen, meaning not the case itself, but how we can standardize everything so that every player, regardless of his ranking or status or profile, is able to get the same kind of treatment," Djokovic further added.
