World number one Novak Djokovic has warned Jannik Sinner that the cloud of doping controversy will follow him just as the vaccine controversy during the coronavirus continues to haunt him. Sinner only served a three-month ban in February 2025 after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA, the world’s anti-doping enforcement agency) accepted the Italian tennis player’s explanation that the banned anabolic steroid, Clostbol, had accidentally entered his system.
Djokovic also criticized anti-doping authorities for scheduling the three-month ban in such a way that Sinner did not miss any Grand Slam events.
“It’s just something that was very big, and when that happens, it will fade over time, but I don’t think it will go away. There will always be a certain group of people who will always try to make it happen,” Djokovic told journalist Piers Morgan in an interview on Piers Morgan: The Uncensored Show on YouTube.
Watch: Djokovic interview
Djokovic said he was confident that Sinner, who is his regular training partner, “did not dope intentionally.” But the Serbian, former world number one, wondered how the Italian was able to spend his time without missing one of the four major tournaments.
“There is a lack of transparency, inconsistency and ease of suspension between the Grand Slams, so he doesn’t miss the other ones – it’s been very strange,” Djokovic added. “I really don’t like the way this issue has been handled and you could hear from many other players, both male and female, who have faced some similar situations in the media and complained that this was the treatment of choice.”
The Serbian tennis player felt that this episode would haunt Siner for a long time.
“That cloud will follow him forever like the Covid vaccine situation is for me,” Djokovic said, referring to the 2022 case when he was deported from Australia for failing to take a Covid-19 vaccine.
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(Tags for translation) Djokovic (R) Jannik Sinner (R) Novak Djokovic
