Novak Djokovic calls out 'favoritism' in Jannik Sinner ban

Novak Djokovic never doubted Jannik Sinner's innocence throughout the latter's doping ordeal. 

The Serb was vindicated last weekend when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) admitted that Sinner "did not intend to cheat" and that his exposure to a banned steroid occurred "without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage." As such, WADA withdrew its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), settling with Sinner on a three-month suspension through May 4, 2025.

While Djokovic is thrilled that Sinner won't serve a two-year ban — which the WADA initially called for — he is upset at how authorities handled the Italian's case. Speaking to reporters at the Qatar Open, Djokovic felt Sinner benefited from "favoritism" due to his status as World No. 1. 

"A majority of the players don't feel it's fair," Djokovic said of Sinner's three-month ban. "A majority of the players feel like there is favoritism happening. It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if have access to the top lawyers and whatnot."

Djokovic declared that Sinner and Iga Swiatek, who served a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine, "are innocent" but benefited from being top-ranked stars. He cited the examples of former World No. 1 Simona Halep and Britain's Tara Moore, who faced harsher bans for failing doping tests.

"Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players that are maybe less known have been struggling to resolve their cases for years, or have got the ban for years... there is so much inconsistencies between the cases," Djokovic added.