Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Novak Djokovic has expressed his view on the debate around the way the world’s tennis bodies have handled doping cases in the 2024 season, especially those concerning world No.1s Italian Jannik Sinner and Poland’s Iga Swiatek.
Calling for more transparency, Djokovic said in Brisbane that it appeared high-ranked players have been treated differently to others.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion agreed with Australian Nick Kyrgios, who on Saturday said integrity in the sport was “awful.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic, who will play doubles with Kyrgios at the Brisbane International this week, said he believed Sinner’s defence to testing positive to the steroid clostebol in March due to contamination from his physiotherapist. However, he added, “I’ve been really frustrated, as have most of the other players, that we’ve been kept in the dark for five months.”
“The news came in April and the announcement was not made until August, just before the US Open.”
“The ATP has not really talked in depth about why they kept that case away from the public. Then we had [Simona] Halep’s case and Swiatek’s case on the WTA Tour and it’s not a good look for our sport.”
“I’m just questioning the way the system works,” Djokovic added.
“Why are certain players not treated the same as other players – maybe there’s some ranking reasons behind it, or maybe others have more financial backing behind them or stronger legal teams.”
At the World Tennis League last week in Abu Dhabi, Swiatek defended herself in an exclusive interaction with Aletihad, denying that she got preferential treatment from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), after she tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine in August.
As with Sinner, the ITIA accepted that Swiatek’s violation was not intentional and she received only a one-month ban.
“I have no influence on how the ITIA makes their decision. I did my best to give the source [of the drug] and as much data as possible and to defend myself. And that’s the only thing I can do, you know.”
“I think they [ITIA] treated me fairly because I know how tough a process I have been through. And I don’t feel like I’ve been given special treatment… because I still couldn’t, you know, play tournaments and I lost the No.1 ranking because of that, so it’s not like it came without anything good.”
But fellow players such as another former world No.1 Simona Halep have added to the chorus.
Halep, who also played in Abu Dhabi last week, was handed a four-year ban by the ITIA in 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat.
When she argued it was a tainted supplement and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, her suspension was reduced to nine months, something that she feels betrays the bias.
On Saturday, the Australian Kyrgios, who is returning from a long injury lay-off, had said that “tennis integrity right now – and everyone knows it but no one wants to speak about it – is awful,” and Djokovic has agreed.
